#1 is the best, #50 is the worst
The day after the midterms, Vice President JD Vance said Republicans lost because of the Iran war. Trump called that 'largely true' and said he'd do it again. Fourteen senators and 180 House members on this site voted against ordering the troops out.
Forget the slogans. Judged by what they voted for, what they did, and what they refused to stop, this is what Republicans in Congress stand for, on 20 issues, with the receipts.
The Big Beautiful Bill cuts Medicaid by close to $1 trillion over 10 years, and the Congressional Budget Office says the law will leave 10 million more people uninsured. Republicans made sure the biggest cut doesn't start until 2027 — after the midterms. 198 Republicans on this site voted for it.
Trump won South Dakota with 63.4% of the vote to 34.2%, a margin of 29.2 points, with 64.5% of eligible voters turning out. (Full 2024 presidential results, state by state.)
3 of 3 — 100%. In the U.S. House, South Dakota has 1 Republican and 0 Democrats; in the Senate, 2 Republicans and 0 Democrats. (Source: Current members of Congress from South Dakota, on Wikipedia.)
South Dakota ranks #31 of 50. That is the average of its rank on the 17 measures in the report card above — violent crime, gun deaths, life expectancy, food insecurity, maternal and infant mortality, household income, public education, voter turnout and more. #1 is the best state to live in, #50 the worst.
You can compare South Dakota directly to other states on our Compare States page.
We grade Republican incumbents running in 2026 — U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives and governors — on their record: how they voted, who funds them, and what it has cost South Dakota. Democrats and independents do not get report cards.
