Heading into Tuesday’s election for the District 20 state Senate race, experience was on Josh Klumb’s side.
The Republican incumbent from Mount Vernon won the state Senate race for District 20 on Tuesday night, marking Klumb’s third victory for the respective seat. Klumb cruised to victory with 85% of the votes, tallying 8,515 of 3,929 of the 10,007 votes for District 20 — which includes Davison, Jerauld and Aurora counties — while his challenger representing the Libertarian party, Alexander Martin, of Mitchell, trailed with 1,492 votes or 15%.
“I’m humbled by my district for voting me in again to represent them in the state Senate for another term,” Klumb said following his Tuesday night victory. “I look forward to working with my constituents to continue bringing growth to our state.”
Klumb has served in Pierre since 2015 and has climbed to the role of majority whip in the Senate, where he has spent his last four years serving. While he is veteran name in the state Legislature, Klumb is eager to take on some major challenges facing his district.
Throughout his six years in Legislature, Klumb has sponsored some notable bills that have been signed into laws over the past several years, such as the industrial hemp bill that recently allowed farmers to grow hemp as a cash crop.
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Klumb is now looking ahead to the upcoming legislative session that begins in January. Among some of the main challenges Klumb hopes to tackle over the next two years are improving county roads and combating the state’s methamphetamine and drug problem.
With COVID-19 spreading through the state at its highest rate since the start of the pandemic, Klumb said addressing the virus will be another key issue in the state Senate.
“We need to do our very best at helping the health care workers and those who are on the frontlines combating the virus,” Klumb said.
