Midterms Update

A South Dakota Election Takes an Unusual Shift Toward Democrats

The Cook Political Report just shifted its rating to “toss-up.”

Kristi NoemPhotographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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South Dakota is a very Republican state. More than 60 percent of its residents voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and at the start of the 2018 campaign season its open-seat governor’s race wasn’t going to be much of a contest.

No longer. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which handicaps election races, shifted its rating to “Toss Up” from “Leans Republican.”