2008Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
2008 election for South Dakota Legislative District 7
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Pamela Merchant (D) won with 51.2% of the vote, defeating Orville B. Smidt (R) by 2.3 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Pamela MerchantDemocrat · winner
51.2%4,940
Orville B. SmidtRepublican · incumbent
48.8%4,716
9,656 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 2008
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET