1978Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1978 election for South Dakota Legislative District 8
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Paul S. Tschetter (D) won with 52.3% of the vote, defeating Theodore I. Spaulding (R) by 4.7 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Paul S. TschetterDemocrat · winner
52.3%3,799
Theodore I. SpauldingRepublican · incumbent
47.7%3,461
7,260 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