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Voters Pick a Mix of Incumbents and Challengers

Voters Pick a Mix of Incumbents and Challengers

Photo: WNAX


Yankton County voters kept one incumbent and added a new member to the county commission.
Wanda Howey-Fox, a republican, led the five-way race with 4981 votes, followed by incumbent republican Commissioner Don Kettering with 4978 votes. In third was independent Bill Conkling with 22 percent of the vote followed by democrat challenger Bob Gleich (glike) with thirteen percent and incumbent independent Gary Swensen with ten percent of the vote.
In the District 18 Senate race, long time republican legislator Jean Hunhoff moved from the House to the Senate, defeating first time democratic candidate Jordan Foos by a sixty to forty percent margin. The two House candidates, incumbent democrat Ryan Cwach and republican Mike Stevens were unopposed.

Some new faces are mixed in with returning members in legislative races from Tuesday.

In the District 17 Senate race, incumbent republican Senator Art Rusch of Vermillion was reelected by a sixty-four to thirty two percent margin over democrat Ailee (ay-lee) Johns of Vermillion. Libertarian Greg Baldwin of Wakonda got four percent. In the District 17 House race for two open seats, republican Sydney Davis of Burbank got thirty one percent of the vote and republican Richard Vasgaard of Centerville got twenty eight percent. The two democrats in the race were Al Leber and Caitlin Collier, both of Vermillion.

In the District 21 Senate race, republican Erin Tobin of Winner got seventy nine percent of the vote to defeat democrat Dan Kerner Andersson of Burke. In the House race, republican Senator Rocky Blare of Ideal was successful in moving to the House and got forty four percent of the vote followed by republican incumbent Caleb Finck of Tripp with thirty five percent. Democrat Jessica Hegge of Platte finished third with twenty percent.

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