Republicans kept their District 32 house seats, with a solid majority of voters sending Brian Gosch and Brian Dreyer back to the state Legislature for another term.
With all seven precincts reporting, Dreyer captured 5,149 votes, or 29.05 percent, and Gosch won 5,127 voters, or 28.93 percent, of ballots cast.
The two Republicans defeated Democrats Bethany Wojahn and Eric Abrahamson in the solidly Republican district. Only 22 percent of voters (3,942) supported Abrahamson and 20 percent (3,505) cast their ballots for Wojahn.
For Gosch, it is his first election victory. Gov. Mike Rounds appointed him to replace Republican Alan Hanks, who resigned after winning the Rapid City mayoral election.
Gosch, 37, hit the streets and campaigned door to door, aiming for the name recognition crucial at the ballot box.
"And it paid off," he said. "We covered a lot of ground."
A 12-year Rapid City resident and an attorney, Gosch has said he'll begin working on his goals for the next legislative session.
Although incumbent Dreyer, 32, was the youngest candidate in the race, he had the most legislative experience, having served one full term in the Legislature. Like Gosch, he credits his win to his door-to-door campaign. He estimates he visited 4,000 homes.
"I knocked on a lot of doors," he said. "At the level of race we have, people want to meet you; they want to shake your hand."
Dreyer, a real estate broker and South Dakota National Guard pilot, grew up in Rapid City and came back to the city in 2004.
Dreyer said his top priorities in Pierre will include school consolidation issues and state spending on infrastructure.
 Title: 2008 Election Wrap
Date: November 5th, 2008 The 2008 election proved to be a historic event. Here's a wrap up of key races in the U.S., the state and western South Dakota. |
