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The South Dakota at-large congressional district covers the entire state of South Dakota . It was created in 1982 , after South Dakota lost its 2nd District. It is represented in the United States House Of Representatives by Stephanie Herseth Sandlin . It is the largest congressional district represented by a Democrat . 2004 SPECIAL ELECTION Incumbent representative Bill Janklow resigned his seat effective January 20 , 2004 , after he was convicted of second-degree Manslaughter , triggering a special election. Stephanie Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she beat GOP candidate Larry Diedrich with 51 percent in a close-fought election on June 1 , 2004 . Herseth's victory briefly gave the state its first all-Democratic congressional delegation since 1937. 2004 GENERAL ELECTION Both Herseth and Diedrich were selected to represent their parties in the general election in November, so campaigning continued after the special election. In the November general election, Herseth was elected to a full term with 53.4 percent of the vote, an increase of a few percentage points compared with the even closer June special elections. Herseth's vote margin in June was about 3,000 votes, but by November it had grown to over 29,000. Herseth thereby became the first woman in state history to win a full term in Congress. Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States, and the special election was watched closely by a national audience. The general election was also viewed as one of the most competitive in the country, but was overshadowed in the state by the highly competitive Senate race between Tom Daschle and John Thune . 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT When South Dakota was admitted into the Union in 1889, it was allocated two congressional seats, both of which were filled from the state at-large. This continued until South Dakota received a Third Congressional Seat after the 1910 Census , and individual districts were established. From 1913 until 1933, the newly created 1st District covered 21 counties in southwestern South Dakota, including the state's largest city Sioux Falls .Official Congressional Directory, 63rd Congress (1913) through 72nd Congress (1931) When South Dakota's 3rd Congressional District was eliminated after the 1930 Census , the 1st District was expanded to include all of the counties in South Dakota east of the Missouri River .Official Congressional Directory, 73rd Congress (1933) Population changes eventually reduced the district size until it again covered just 21 counties in the eastern part of the state. During the 97th Congress , it included the cities of Aberdeen , Brookings , Sioux Falls, Watertown , Vermillion , and Yankton .Official Congressional Directory, 9th Congress (1981) REPRESENTATIVES Note: From 1913 to 1983, representatives were elected to the 1st District rather than at-large. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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