State Senator
State Senate District 4; South Dakota
My vote power
Below average
Election date
November 3, 2026 · General election
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: High · 66 out of 100
This district is a small slice of its state, so each vote here carries much more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 26,630 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(907,428 ÷ 26,630) ÷ ln(50,000) = 66.31, measured against a statewide vote in SD (grades: 66+ high, 33+ normal, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Decisiveness: None · only 1 candidate
One candidate is running unopposed, so votes can't change the outcome.
High representation + an uncontested race → My vote power: Below average.
About this office
- Voting on how much you pay in state taxes
- Voting on how much money your local public schools get
- Voting on which roads and highways get built or repaired
Affects: AI Regulation, Healthcare Affordability, Environment and Public Health,
Candidates
Republican · Incumbent · declared
Stephanie Sauder serves in the South Dakota Senate and is a retired teacher of over 30 years who was mayor of Bryant for eight years and edited the Bryant Dakotan newspaper. She holds an educational leadership master's from Northern State University.
Records: Corporate Accountability 4 for, 1 against, Public Education Quality 5 for, Healthcare Affordability 3 for,
Source: ballotpedia.org