1996Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1996 election for South Dakota's at-large District
U.S. House · South Dakota
John Thune (R) won with 57.7% of the vote, defeating Rick Weiland (D) by 20.7 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
John ThuneRepublican · winner
57.7%186,393
Rick WeilandDemocrat
37.0%119,547
Stacey L. NelsonIndependent
3.2%10,397
Kurt EvansIndependent
2.1%6,866
323,203 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Rick WeilandJohn Thune
$894.7K
Raised by the campaign
$786.9K
$890.7K
Spent by the campaign
$773.1K
$4K
Cash on hand
$13.8K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1996.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1996
The candidates
John Thune (R)Rick Weiland (D)
Also on the ballot: Stacey L. Nelson (Independent), 3.2%; Kurt Evans (Independent), 2.1%