PolitiFinder

1986 South Dakota U.S. Senate Election

South Dakota · 2 candidates · See every 1986 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1986 South Dakota U.S. Senate Election?

Thomas A. Daschle won the 1986 South Dakota U.S. Senate Election. Thomas A. Daschle received 152,657 popular votes (51.6%). The main challenger was James Abdnor (48.4%).

See the full head-to-head between Daschle and Abdnor

Daschle +3.2 pts · won by 9,484 votes
Thomas A. DaschleDemocraticWINNER51.6%
152,657 votes
James AbdnorRepublican48.4%
143,173 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.