1982Final results
1982 election for South Dakota Governor
Governor · South Dakota
William Janklow (R) won with 70.9% of the vote, defeating Michael J. O'Connor (D) by 41.7 points.
William JanklowRepublican · winner
70.9%197,429
Michael J. O'ConnorDemocrat
29.1%81,136
278,565 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 1982
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET