Sunday, May 24, 2026

Has SD ever elected a woman to the US Senate?

Michael Klinski, South Dakota News Watch

yes

South Dakota is one of 34 states that have had a woman senator, though both served brief terms.

As of 2026, 64 women have served in the United States Senate. Two were from South Dakota.

Gladys Pyle, born in Huron in 1890, was the first woman in the state House. She later unsuccessfully ran for governor but was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election after the death of Peter Norbeck. Pyle served from Nov. 9, 1938, to Jan. 3, 1939. She was the first Republican woman elected to the Senate

The state’s second woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, Vera Bushfield, was born in Miller in 1889, and was appointed on Oct. 6, 1948, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband, Sen. Harlan Bushfield. She served until Dec. 27, 1948, when she resigned.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Senate.Gov Women senators
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Vera Bushfield
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Gladys Pyle
Rutgers Women in Congress
New York Times Women in the Senate
Pew Research Center Women account for 28% of lawmakers in the 119th Congress – unchanged from the last Congress

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Has SD ever elected a woman to the US Senate?

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