2026 South Dakota secretary of state race

Incumbent: Monae Johnson (Republican) · not seeking re-election in this race

Heather BaxterSouth Dakota Republican Party

TLTamara LesnarLibertarian

IJR Line — pollster average adjusted by community Influence

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Where they stand

Expand an issue for what they've actually said, cited

Issue	Baxter	Davis
Election integrity: voter ID	Unknown	Unknown
Election integrity: mail ballots	Unknown	Unknown
Energy production	Unknown	Unknown
Abortion	Unknown	Unknown
	Supports parent authority	Unknown
School choice	Unknown	Unknown
Housing costs	Unknown	Unknown
Crime & policing	Unknown	Unknown
Fentanyl & drug enforcement	Unknown	Unknown
Medical gender transition for minors	Unknown	Unknown
Women's sports	Unknown	Unknown
LGBT causes	Unknown	Unknown
Taxes (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Gun policy (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Regulation & permitting (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Border enforcement & immigration law (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Health care (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Social Security & Medicare (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Marijuana legalization (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
DEI programs (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Federal spending & debt (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
EV mandates (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Free speech & tech censorship (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Congressional term limits (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Congressional stock trading (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Sanctuary jurisdictions (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Student loan forgiveness (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Israel (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
Ukraine aid (federal)	Unknown	Unknown
China & trade (federal)	Unknown	Unknown

[1] HOST: South Dakota lawmakers defeated a bill on parental rights that opponents say it would have hurt efforts to protect children. Representative Heather Baxter is a Republican from Rapid City. She sponsored the bill in the House. BAXTER (0:08) We should clearly recognize the parents have the right to direct the child’s upbringing, education, religious formation and medical decisions. She says the government should only intervene when there’s a compelling reason to do so. The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, Department of Social Services and Medical Association opposed the bill. Representative Taylor Rehfeldt, a Republican from Sioux Falls, also opposed the bill. She says it could shield abusive behavior. REHFELDT (0:10) If there’s any doubt in any of our minds that this bill passage would enable a parent to put that abuse on their child, we can’t pass it. The state Senate supported the bill last month, but the House voted 35 to 30 to defeat it.

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