1978Final results
1978 election for South Dakota Governor
Governor · South Dakota
William Janklow (R) won with 56.6% of the vote, defeating Roger McKellips (D) by 13.3 points.
William JanklowRepublican · winner
56.6%147,116
Roger McKellipsDemocrat
43.4%112,679
259,795 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET