1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota

The 1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Republican Senator Karl E. Mundt ran for re-election to his fourth term. He was challenged in the Republican primary by a John Birch Society member, but easily turned away the challenge. In the general election, he faced State Representative Donn Wright, the Democratic nominee. Owing in large part to the Republican landslide taking place nationwide, Mundt defeated Wright by an unprecedented margin.

1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota

← 1960 November 8, 1966 1972 →

Nominee Karl Mundt Donn H. Wright Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 150,517 76,563 Percentage 66.28% 33.72%

County results Mundt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Wright:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Karl E. Mundt Republican Elected U.S. Senator Karl E. Mundt Republican

South Dakota would not elect another Senator to a fourth term until John Thune in 2022, it was dubbed the "Mundt curse".^[1]

Democratic primary

State Representative Donn Wright from Aurora County announced that he would run against Mundt on April 18, 1966, the only Democratic candidate to do so.^[2] As Wright was the only candidate to file for the nomination, he won the primary unopposed and the race was removed from the primary election ballot.^[3]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Karl E. Mundt, incumbent U.S. Senator
• Richard B. Murphy, attorney,^[4] John Birch Society member^[5]

Results

Republican primary^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Karl E. Mundt (inc.)	66,758	82.06%
	Republican	Richard B. Murphy	14,593	17.94%
Total votes			81,351	100.00%

General election

Results

1966 United States Senate election in South Dakota^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Karl E. Mundt (inc.)	150,517	66.28%	+13.84%
	Democratic	Donn H. Wright	76,653	33.72%	−13.84%
Majority			73,954	32.57%	+27.68%
Turnout			227,080	100.00%
	Republican hold

References

1. "Sen. John Thune broke the Mundt curse. Now, can he become the Senate GOP top dog?". subscribe.argusleader.com. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
2. "Donn Wright Is Demo Candidate For U. S. Senate". Mitchell Daily Republic. Mitchell, S.D. April 18, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
3. "Demos Have 2 Contests For Precinct Committee Posts". Daily Plainsman. Huron, S.D. May 11, 1966. p. 20. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
4. "Murphy To Seek Nomination For U. S. Senate In Primary". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, S.D. September 8, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
5. Trandahl, Ed (January 15, 1966). "About Town". Mitchell Daily Republic. Mitchell, S.D. p. 3. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
6. Nelson, Nelson; Heinrich, Chad W., eds. (2005). "Chapter 8: Elections". Legislative Manual: South Dakota, 2005. Pierre, S.D. p. 627.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)