Local elections too close to call

Parroting the presidential election, some local elections in South Dakota were also too close to call Wednesday morning.

There were two State House of Representatives seats for which candidates ran for in District 17, which includes Clay and Turner County. Four candidates ran for the seats. The district also elected a state senator. There are also statewide elections for a United States House of Representatives seat and a United States Senate seat.

Tuesday night, Arthur Rusch won in District 17. Incumbent Nancy Rasmussen won reelection. She was followed by incumbent Ray Ring, who had just pulled ahead of Debbie Pease by midnight.

Ring has served on multiple committees since taking office, including Education, Transportation and Appropriations. Nancy Rasmussen has also served on the Transportation Committee in addition to the Taxation Committee.  They ran for re-election against Democrat Mark Winegar and Republican Debbie Pease.

“It’s kind of a nail-biter, isn’t it,” Pease said at 11:48 p.m. “I feel like it’s in God’s hands.”

Ring was anxious waiting for results as well.

“I more optimistic than I was a few minutes ago,” Ring said at 12 a.m. “I’m more optimistic than I was, but I’m still waiting.”

Ring and Rasmussen won reelection in the end.

District 17 will also elected a state senator. The incumbent for District 17 was Republican Arthur Rusch. Rusch, a retired circuit judge, was elected in 2014. He ran against Democrat Shane Merrill.

“I’m pretty optimistic at this point because I think Clay County is my strong point,” Rusch said, waiting for only three precincts to report, all in Clay County.

Rusch won re-election by 1,058 votes.

South Dakota’s representative in the United States House of Representatives, Republican Kristi Noem won re-election against Democratic challenger Paula Hawks.

Kristi Noem was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2010. She has served on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Subcommittee on Sax Policy and the Subcommittee on Human Resources.

Hawks grew up in rural South Dakota and is a graduate of SDSU. Hawks has a masters degree from USD, and spent 10 years teaching at West Central High School.

Noem won re-election by 104,260 votes.

Republican Senator John Thune also won re-election, staving off a challenge from Democrat Jay Williams. Thune has served in the United States Senate since 2004, and has served on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Committee on Finance. Williams served in the Navy and Peace Corps.

Thune won reelection by 161,283 votes.