1978Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
1978 election for South Dakota Legislative District 16
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Carrol Allen (D) won with 55.7% of the vote, defeating Lee A. Tappe (R) by 11.4 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Carrol AllenDemocrat · winner
55.7%4,230
Lee A. TappeRepublican
44.3%3,365
7,595 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 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET