South Dakota's at-large congressional district

South Dakota's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the state of South Dakota. Based on area, it is the fourth largest congressional district in the nation.

The district is currently represented by Dusty Johnson.

History
The district was created when South Dakota achieved statehood on November 2, 1889, electing two members. Following the 1910 United States census a third seat was gained, with the legislature drawing three separate districts. The third district was eliminated after the 1930 census. As a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 census, the second seat was eliminated, creating a single at-large district. Since 1983, South Dakota has retained a single congressional district.

2004 special
Incumbent U.S. Representative Bill Janklow resigned the seat on January 20, 2004, after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, triggering a special election. Democrat Stephanie Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she defeated Republican Larry Diedrich with 51 percent of the vote 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
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 the U.S. 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 U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tom Daschle and Republican John Thune, which Thune narrowly won.

1889–1913: two seats
Two seats were created in 1889.

In 1913, the two at-large seats were replaced by three districts. There were no at-large seats, therefore, until 1983.

1983–present: one seat
By 1983, the remaining two district seats were reduced to one at-large seat.