2012 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota explained

Election Name:	2012 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota
Country:	South Dakota
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2010 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota
Previous Year:	2010
Next Election:	2014 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota
Next Year:	2014
Election Date:	November 6, 2012
Image1:	File:Kristi Noem portrait (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Kristi Noem
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	207,640
Percentage1:	57.4%
Nominee2:	Matt Varilek
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	153,789
Percentage2:	42.6%
Map Size:	260px
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Kristi Noem
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Kristi Noem
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 2012 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the single U.S. Representative from South Dakota's At-large congressional district, comprising the entire state of South Dakota. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kristi Noem, incumbent U.S. Representative^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Matt Varilek, staffer for Senator Tim Johnson^[2]

Eliminated in primary

• Jeff Barth, Minnehaha County Commissioner^[1]

Declined

• Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, former U.S. Representative^[3]

Primary results

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	width=100px	Kristi Noem (R)	width=100px	Matt Varilek (D)	Undecided
Nielson Brothers Polling^[4]	October 31 – November 4, 2012	633	± 3.90%	align=center	54%	41%	5%
Nielson Brothers Polling^[5]	October 28–31, 2012	671	± 3.78%	align=center	50%	44%	5%
Nielson Brothers Polling^[6]	August 29 – September 6, 2012	509	± 4.34%	align=center	51%	42%	7%
Nielson Brothers Polling^[7]	July 19–23, 2012	541	± 4.21%	align=center	47%	46%	7%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	width=100px	Kristi Noem (R)	width=100px	Stephanie H. Sandlin (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling^[8]	January 28–30, 2011	1,045	± 3.0%	45%	align=center	46%	8%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[9]		November 5, 2012
align=left	Rothenberg^[10]		November 2, 2012
align=left	Roll Call^[11]		November 4, 2012
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[12]		November 5, 2012
align=left	NY Times^[13]		November 4, 2012
RCP^[14]		November 4, 2012
align=left	The Hill^[15]		November 4, 2012

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Beadle (Largest city: Huron)
• Bon Homme (Largest city: Springfield)
• Brule (Largest city: Chamberlain)
• Corson (Largest city: McLaughlin)
• Deuel (Largest city: Clear Lake)
• Grant (Largest city: Milbank)
• Jerauld (Largest city: Wessington Springs)
• Kingsbury (Largest city: De Smet)
• Lake (Largest city: Madison)
• Miner (Largest city: Howard)
• Minnehaha (Largest city: Sioux Falls)
• Moody (Largest city: Flandreau)
• Sanborn (Largest city: Woonsocket)
• Brookings (largest city: Brookings)
• Aurora (largest city: Plankinton)
• Bennett (largest city: Martin)
• Clark (largest city: Clark)
• Spink (largest city: Redfield)
• Mellette (Largest city: White River)

External links

• Elections from the South Dakota Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in South Dakota, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• South Dakota - At-Large from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Kristi Noem campaign website
• Matt Varilek campaign website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rep. Noem gears up for re-election campaign. July 16, 2011. July 20, 2011. Argus Leader. Megan. Luther.
2. Web site: Politically Speaking: Varilek enters race for South Dakota congressional seat. December 2, 2011. December 2, 2011. Sioux City Journal. Bret. Hayworth.
3. Web site: Stephanie Herseth Sandlin officially announces she will not run for office in 2012. January 21, 2011. January 29, 2011. Argus Leader.
4. https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/NBPSDNov.pdf Nielson Brothers Polling
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20121105001126/http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/71986/group/homepage Nielson Brothers Polling
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20120926022000/http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/70337/group/homepage Nielson Brothers Polling
7. https://www.scribd.com/doc/101955145/Final-July-Survey-Candidates-and-Issues Nielson Brothers Polling
8. http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_SD_02021118.pdf Public Policy Polling
9. Web site: The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races . Cookpolitical.com . November 5, 2012 . November 6, 2012.
10. Web site: House Ratings . Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com . November 2, 2012 . November 4, 2012.
11. http://www.rollcall.com/politics/race-ratings-chart-2012-house-elections.html
12. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/category/2012-house/ Crystal Ball
13. http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/ratings/house House Race Ratings
14. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/house/2012_elections_house_map.html
15. Web site: House Ratings . The Hill . November 4, 2012. November 3, 2012 .