1988Final results
1988 election for South Dakota Legislative District 21
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
George Shanard (R) won with 53.1% of the vote, defeating Mel Olson (D) by 6.2 points.
George ShanardRepublican · winner · incumbent
53.1%4,522
Mel OlsonDemocrat
46.9%3,998
8,520 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 1988
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET