South Dakota's congressional delegations

South Dakota has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives since it became a state in 1889,^[1] beginning with the 51st United States Congress that year.^[2]: 224 Before becoming a state, South Dakota – as part of the larger Dakota Territory – elected a non-voting delegate at-large to Congress from 1861 to 1889.^[2]: 165

Each state elects two senators to serve for six years in general elections, with their re-election staggered. Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, South Dakota senators were elected by the South Dakota Legislature; afterwards, senators were elected directly by the people of the state.^[3] Each state elects a varying number of, but at least one,^[4] member of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms.^[5] South Dakota has sent one at-large member to the House since the 1980 United States Census.^[6] Currently, South Dakota is represented in the Senate by Mike Rounds and John Thune,^[7] and in the House by Dusty Johnson.^[8] The first and only woman to serve South Dakota in the House and Senate was Gladys Pyle. Three women have served South Dakota in the House, while two have served in the Senate.^[9]

The current dean, or longest-serving member, of the South Dakota delegiation is Republican Senator John Thune, who has served in the Senate since his election in 2004.^[10] The longest-serving member of Congress from South Dakota is Karl E. Mundt, who served 34 years combined in the House and Senate.^[11]