2016 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary

June 7, 2016 (2016-06-07)

Candidate Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Home state New York Vermont Delegate count 10 10 Popular vote 27,047[1] 25,959 Percentage 51.03% 48.97%

Election results by county.   Hillary Clinton   Bernie Sanders   Tie

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26

The 2016 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary was held on June 7 in the U.S. state of South Dakota as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The Democratic Party's primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico were held the same day, as are Republican primaries in the same five states, including their own South Dakota primary. Additionally, the Democratic Party held North Dakota caucuses the same day.

Opinion polling

Results

Analysis

South Dakota, a predominantly white and rural state in the Great Plains with a significant Native American population, was split near evenly between Clinton and Sanders in terms of geography and delegate count. Secretary Clinton carried the eastern portion of the state, with the exception of Roberts County in the northeast corner. She edged out Sanders in Minnehaha County, the most populated county and home to Sioux Falls. Lincoln County (Canton), Brown County (Aberdeen), Brookings County (Brookings), Codington County, (Watertown), Yankton County (Yankton, South Dakota), Davison County (Mitchell), and Hughes County (home to the state capital Pierre), all gave Clinton substantial margins that were enough for her to carry one of the most Republican states in the country.

Senator Bernie Sanders kept the race close by winning the western portion, which is far more rural than the eastern half and tends to vote more Republican in presidential elections. The most populated county in the region and second most populous in the state, Pennington County, home to Rapid City, gave Sanders an 8.3% margin over Clinton. Sanders also carried the counties of Oglala Lakota, Jackson, and Bennett, which are part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. These counties are among the most poverty stricken in the United States (as Sanders tends to do well among voters with low incomes), with the census-designated place of Allen in Bennett County being considered the poorest municipality in the entire country. Sanders also carried several other Native American reservations including neighboring Rosebud Indian Reservation to the east, the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation to the north, and its neighbor Standing Rock Indian Reservation, part of which stretches into North Dakota.

Sanders had visited the Pine Ridge reservation in May, where he spoke to residents and was warmly welcomed by Native American tribal leaders, talking about the need to improve health care and education on reservations and maintain tribal sovereignty. Other issues brought up by Sanders including the Keystone Pipeline and fracking, which many Native Americans had expressed opposition towards. Another likely reason for the large amount of Native American support for Sanders was towards a controversial comment Secretary Clinton made in April after Donald Trump became the presumptive nominee where she stated, "I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak." The remarks were considered offensive by many people, and likely benefitted Sanders (though Clinton appeared to do well among Native Americans in New Mexico the same day).^[4]

See also

• 2016 South Dakota Republican presidential primary

References