Nineteen candidates representing the 17 counties in The Daily Republic's coverage area have filed ballot petitions to run for the South Dakota Legislature.
The deadline to file ballot petitions was 5 p.m. Tuesday, but more nominating petitions could be filed if they were mailed by Tuesday.
The following candidates have filed petitions and are listed on the South Dakota Secretary of State's website.
District 8
Residents of Sanborn and Miner counties, as well as Lake and Moody counties, will have the most choices for the two House of Representatives seats representing the region. Two Democrats and two Republicans have filed, and all four candidates reside in either Flandreau or Madison.
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The candidates for the two open seats include the two Republican incumbents, Reps. Leslie Heinemann, of Flandreau, and Mathew Wollmann, of Madison, as well as their two Democratic challengers. Kory Rawstern, of Madison, and Jason Unger, of Flandreau, will contest two-term legislator Heinemann and one-term Representative Wollmann.
For the district's senate seat, only incumbent Sen. Scott Parsley, R-Madison, is seeking the seat as of Tuesday. Parsley has served one term in each house of the state Legislature.
District 19
District 19, which represents five counties in southeastern South Dakota, also features two contested races for a chance to serve in the Legislature.
Residents of McCook, Hanson, Hutchinson, Bon Homme and Douglas counties will have the opportunity to choose from two candidates for senate.
One candidate, Fulton resident and former Representative Stace Nelson, is a familiar face to many district residents who vaulted him to Pierre for two terms in the House of Representatives. The other is 23-year-old South Dakota State University student and Tripp native Caleb Finck, who hopes to use his experience as president of the SDSU Students' Association to represent his hometown district in 2017. Both candidates will run as Republicans.
Sen. Bill Van Gerpen, of Tyndall, will not run for re-election.
The district will also have a choice of three people, each from a different county, for the two spots in the House of Representatives. Incumbent Reps. Kent Peterson, R-Salem, and Kyle Schoenfish, R-Scotland, will run for re-election, but the two will face at least one challenger. ReGina L. Osborn, a Republican from Emery, is seeking one of the seats from the two incumbents.
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District 20
Davison, Aurora and Jerauld counties will see four familiar faces on the ballot this fall. Rep. Joshua Klumb, R-Mount Vernon, is looking to fill the void left by Sen. Mike Vehle, who is term-limited out of office and cannot run for re-election in the Senate. Klumb's opponent will be former state Rep. Quinten Burg, a Wessington Springs Democrat.
The only incumbent running for re-election in District 20 is Rep. Tona Rozum, R-Mitchell, who is seeking her fourth term in the Legislature. Former four-term Rep. Lance Carson, R-Mitchell, looks to fill Klumb's soon-to-be vacated seat.
District 21
Three incumbents will look to make their return to Pierre.
Sen. Billie Sutton, D-Burke, and Reps. Julie Bartling, D-Gregory, and Lee Qualm, R-Platte, are running for re-election to the district representing Charles Mix, Gregory and Tripp counties, as well as parts of Bon Homme county.
District 26 and 26B
District 26 will also see two incumbent candidates on the ballot. Democratic Sen. Troy Heinert, of Mission, will run for re-election while Rep. James Schaefer, R-Kennebec, hopes to take back his seat in District 26B.
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Heinert currently represents Brule, Buffalo, Jones, Lyman, Mellette and Todd counties, while Schaefer represents Brule, Buffalo, Jones and Lyman counties. The other two counties in the district, Mellette and Todd counties, are represented by Shawn Bordeaux, D-Mission, who is also seeking re-election.
Davison County
Few changes are expected in Davison County, with incumbents running for re-election for five out of six positions. The three Davison County Commissioners, Chairwoman Brenda Bode, Denny Kiner and Randy Reider have filed ballot petitions, while Treasurer Christie Gunkel and State's Attorney Jim Miskimins will also appear on the ballot.
