Clay County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

Sydney Davis is the incumbent state senator for South Dakota Senate District 17, per the South Dakota Legislature's official roster. She is a certified registered nurse anesthetist working in Vermillion and operates a cattle ranch in Clay County with her husband and three children, per her campaign site.

Kay Swihart is a Yankton area Democrat running for South Dakota Senate District 18, per South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Swihart spent 14 years at Southern California Edison working in utility operations, transmission and substation construction, accounting and regulatory research, and has also worked in public schools and banking and co-founded a nonprofit organization, per South Dakota Public Broadcasting. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.

Lauren Nelson is the incumbent state senator for South Dakota Senate District 18, per the South Dakota Legislature's official roster. She has 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator and describes herself as a farm wife, per South Dakota Public Broadcasting. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.

Austin Brunick lives in Elk Point, South Dakota, per the campaign site, and works as a technologist, per South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Brunick is running for South Dakota House District 17 on a message of representing working class South Dakotans.

Leslie Gerrish is based in Vermillion, South Dakota, and runs a small business, per the campaign site. Gerrish was the keynote speaker for the 2025 Vermillion High School graduating class, per the campaign site.

Chris Kassin currently serves in the South Dakota House of Representatives for District 17 and sits on the House Appropriations Committee, per the South Dakota Legislature member directory. First elected in 2022, Kassin is vice president of external relations at the University of South Dakota Foundation and holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration, both from the University of South Dakota, per the campaign site.

Troy Redler is a pharmacist and owner of Redler's LTC Pharmacy, per the campaign site. Redler holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Creighton University and lives in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, per the campaign site.

Karen Springer served in the United States Air Force for twenty two years, per the campaign site. Springer lives in Yankton, South Dakota, and is running for South Dakota House District 18, per the campaign site.

Jarod Holcomb has worked for thirteen years on the casthouse floor at Hydro in Yankton County, per his campaign site. He serves as treasurer of the Yankton County Democrats and sits on the board of Pathways, a Yankton homeless shelter, per his campaign site. He is a homeowner in District 18, per his campaign site.

John R. Marquardt serves as chairman of the Yankton County Commission, per his campaign site. He was raised on a family farm in the Yankton area, per his campaign site.