No Democrats file for South Dakota’s U.S. House seat for second election cycle

Two candidates filed to run for South Dakota’s one U.S. House seat in 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 29. This is the fewest number of candidates to file for the seat since 2016 (when there were also two candidates). Three candidates ran for the seat in 2020, and six candidates ran in 2018.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

This is the second election cycle in a row with no Democratic candidate on the ballot.Because it has only one U.S. House seat, South Dakota did not need to redistrict after the 2020 census.Rep. Dusty Johnson (R) is running for re-election. He was elected in 2018 when Kristi Noem (R) retired to run for governor.

The primary election will take place on June 7, making it the 20th state to hold a primary election in 2022. The winner of the Republican primary will face no Democratic Party opposition in the general election, so the seat will not change party hands.