1974Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1974 election for South Dakota Legislative District 16
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Jess Tjeerdsma (R) won with 51.4% of the vote, defeating James Williams (D) by 2.7 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Jess TjeerdsmaRepublican · winner
51.4%4,193
James WilliamsDemocrat
48.6%3,970
8,163 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1974
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET