1978Final results
1978 election for South Dakota Legislative District 17
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
George Shanard (R) won with 63.4% of the vote, defeating Lavera A. Peta (D) by 26.7 points.
George ShanardRepublican · winner · incumbent
63.4%4,434
Lavera A. PetaDemocrat
36.6%2,563
6,997 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