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# South Dakota Election Chief Backs Democrat to Succeed Her
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-south-dakota-2026-09-23-b/
- Published: 2026-09-23T11:45:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T11:45:28.000Z
- Description: Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson has endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis in the race to succeed her, putting election administration and the office’s broader operational duties at the center of the statewide contest.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Politics, South Dakota

**South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson has endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis to succeed her, an unusual cross-party intervention by the Republican official who currently oversees the state’s elections.** In a [personal statement](https://dakotawarcollege.com/a-personal-statement-from-monae-l-johnson-south-dakota-secretary-of-state-why-i-am-supporting-terrence-davis-guest-column/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) published Sept. 19, Johnson said the office’s integrity, stability and professionalism were at stake and urged voters to look beyond party labels.

Johnson lost the Republican nomination to state Rep. Heather Baxter at the party’s June convention. Davis, a former state trooper, is the Democratic nominee. Johnson described Davis’s law-enforcement work and studies in criminal justice, public policy, and law and policy as relevant preparation for the job. She also stressed that her endorsement was personal, not an official act of the Secretary of State’s Office.

The move matters because the office reaches well beyond counting ballots. Johnson’s [statement](https://dakotawarcollege.com/a-personal-statement-from-monae-l-johnson-south-dakota-secretary-of-state-why-i-am-supporting-terrence-davis-guest-column/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) noted that the next secretary will inherit statewide election and business systems, statutory deadlines, contracts, employees and public-record duties. The office also manages corporate registrations, annual reports, secured-transaction filings, notary commissions and lobbyist registrations. That makes competence and continuity part of the practical choice voters will make, not merely a dispute over election policy.

Baxter dismissed the endorsement, telling the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/south-dakota-midterms-secretary-of-state-9e825ab74c155b0690de73f78bb3dfde?ref=theamericanquorum.com) that Johnson preferred a candidate who would not change her work. Baxter has aligned herself with President Donald Trump’s concerns about voter rolls, mail voting and voting machines. Earlier this year, she sponsored legislation that would have barred automatic tabulating systems; the proposal failed. She has since said county auditors should decide how ballots are counted.

The debate lands in a state where local officials already use tested tabulation equipment. The Secretary of State’s official [election guidance](https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/upcoming-elections/Myths-vs-Facts-and-FAQS/Myth-vs-Fact.aspx?ref=theamericanquorum.com) says South Dakota tabulators are not connected to the internet during voting and describes required testing and post-election audits. That record gives voters a concrete standard against which to measure proposals for replacing machines with full hand counts, including the cost, staffing and deadline consequences Johnson raised.

Johnson’s endorsement also marks a sharp turn from her own 2022 campaign, when she declined to affirm Joe Biden’s 2020 victory and drew support from activists skeptical of voting machines. [South Dakota Searchlight](https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/09/20/south-dakotas-top-election-official-a-republican-endorses-a-democrat-to-succeed-her/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that her position shifted over time as she administered the state’s election system. The endorsement therefore carries the perspective of an officeholder who entered with doubts about the system and is now publicly defending its operational stability.

Its electoral effect remains uncertain. South Dakota has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2015, and Republican candidates have dominated recent statewide contests. Davis said the office should serve every resident honestly and fairly, while Baxter argues that GOP convention delegates chose change. For voters, the endorsement clarifies the race: it is now a contest not only between parties, but between competing views of how aggressively the state should remake election administration and how much weight to give continuity across the office’s many other responsibilities.