Pivot Counties in South Dakota
| 2020 Election Analysis: Pivot Counties |
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Retained • Boomerang Margins of victory Voter turnout Demographics |
Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties.
Following the 2016 presidential election, South Dakota had five Pivot Counties.
Ballotpedia defines Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot Counties.
After the 2020 presidential election, the state had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County.
List of Pivot Counties
The table below lists the Pivot Counties in South Dakota. These counties accounted for 7.58 percent of the total counties in South Dakota, and 3.31 percent of the state population.
| Analysis of South Dakota counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 following the 2020 presidential election[1] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | State | Winner, 2020 | Margin of Victory, 2020 | Trump Margin of Victory, 2016 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2012 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2008 | |
| Corson County | South Dakota | Retained | +1.95 | +4.51 | +11.08 | +21.48 | |
| Day County | South Dakota | Retained | +27.56 | +23.77 | +6.16 | +12.89 | |
| Marshall County | South Dakota | Retained | +19.7 | +15.51 | +8.66 | +16.48 | |
| Roberts County | South Dakota | Retained | +13.37 | +15.53 | +9.84 | +19.64 | |
| Ziebach County | South Dakota | Boomerang | +8.5 | +1.96 | +16.43 | +27.16 | |
The map below shows Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties in South Dakota shaded bright red and blue, respectively.
2020 analysis
Voter turnout
South Dakota has five Pivot Counties, 7.6% of the state's 66 total counties. Of those five Pivot Counties, the state has four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, responsible for 2.54% and 0.21% of the statewide turnout, respectively.
| Voter turnout in South Dakota and its Pivot Counties | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Overview | ||||||
| South Dakota | 422,609 | 635,415 | 66.51% | - | ||
| Retained Pivot Counties | 10,732 | 17,830 | 60.19% | 2.54% | ||
| Boomerang Pivot County | 906 | 1,900 | 47.68% | 0.21% | ||
| County-specific | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Corson | 1,283 | 2,670 | 48.05% | 0.30% | ||
| Day | 2,964 | 4,295 | 69.01% | 0.70% | ||
| Marshall | 2,178 | 3,440 | 63.31% | 0.52% | ||
| Roberts | 4,307 | 7,425 | 58.01% | 1.02% | ||
| Ziebach | 906 | 1,900 | 47.68% | 0.21% | ||
Demographics
This table displays demographic data, on average, by county compared to nationwide and statewide averages with a focus on Pivot Counties. Use the arrows at the top of the table to view 2016 data and changes from 2016 to 2020. Full demographic data can be found here.
2016 analysis
Voting trends
The table below details the voting trends of the Pivot Counties in South Dakota since 1960.
| Presidential Elections in South Dakota Pivot Counties since 1960 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Elections won by Republican Presidential candidate | Elections won by Democratic Presidential candidate | Elections matching national result | |||
| Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | |
| Corson County, South Dakota | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Day County, South Dakota | 4 | 26.67% | 11 | 73.33% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Marshall County, South Dakota | 6 | 40.00% | 9 | 60.00% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Roberts County, South Dakota | 4 | 26.67% | 11 | 73.33% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Ziebach County, South Dakota | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Average | 6 | 40.00% | 9 | 60.00% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Median | 6 | 40.00% | 9 | 60.00% | 11 | 73.33% |
2016 election results
In 2016, South Dakota had three electoral votes, which was 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 1.1 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election. Democratic and Republican primaries took place in South Dakota on June 7, 2016. Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary with 51 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 67.1 percent of the vote.
General election
| U.S. presidential election, South Dakota, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 31.7% | 117,458 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
61.5% | 227,721 | 3 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 5.6% | 20,850 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 1.1% | 4,064 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 370,093 | 3 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
Primaries
| South Dakota Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Hillary Clinton |
51% | 27,047 | 10 | |
| Bernie Sanders | 49% | 25,959 | 10 | |
| Totals | 53,006 | 20 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and South Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
| South Dakota Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
67.1% | 44,867 | 29 | |
| Ted Cruz | 17% | 11,352 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 15.9% | 10,660 | 0 | |
| Totals | 66,879 | 29 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and South Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
See also
- List of Pivot Counties - the 206 counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump
- Pivot Counties by state
- Presidential election, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ This analysis does not include counties in Alaska and certain independent cities due to variations in vote total reporting.
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