1996Final results
1996 election for South Dakota Legislative District 20
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Mel Olson (D) won with 61.8% of the vote, defeating Don Barnhart (R) by 23.6 points.
Mel OlsonDemocrat · winner · incumbent
61.8%5,653
Don BarnhartRepublican
38.2%3,497
9,150 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 1996
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET