2008Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
2008 election for South Dakota Legislative District 9
South Dakota State Senate · South Dakota
Tom Dempster (Ind) won with 52.3% of the vote, defeating Paul Nielson (D) by 4.6 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Tom DempsterIndependent · winner · incumbent
52.3%5,109
Paul NielsonDemocrat
47.7%4,660
9,769 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