06/03/2026
2026 Unofficial Primary Election Results
Statewide Voter Turnout: 34.55% (171,729 of 497,046)
Bennett County Voter Turnout: 29.38% (526 of 1,790)
Bennett County Sheriff’s race was won by Kevin Rascher who secured 114 votes to incumbent Jason Erwin’s 64 votes.
Bennett County School District’s board election proved to be the closest race of all with two spots open and incumbents Kayla Claussen and Mike Olson retaining their spots.
Claussen won by the largest margin earning 301 votes and Mike Olson came in second be earning one more vote over Dario Vasquez, Jr. 203 to 202 respectively. Raina Clifford came in fourth with 169 votes.
On the Martin City side of things, in Ward 1, Gloria Claussen defeated Warren Peterson 35 votes to 22.
The governor race was tightly won by Toby Doeden receiving 31 percent of votes while Governor Larry Rhoden fell second with 25 percent, Dusty Johnson 23 percent and Jon Hansen with 21 percent. At the time this story was written, 685/686 precincts had turned in results. According to state law, “If no candidate for United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, or Governor in a race involving three or more candidates receives thirty-five percent of the votes of the candidate’s party, a runoff election shall be held eight weeks from the date of the first primary election. At the runoff election the only persons voted for shall be the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes at the first election.” A runoff election will be held July 28 between Doeden and Rhoden.
Mike Rounds easily defeated Justin McNeal 76 percent to 24 percent for United States Senator.
In the United States Representative race Marty Jackley earned 79 percent of the votes to James Bialota’s 21 percent.
