SD Data Center TransparencyVolunteer

General election · 3 November 2026

State House, District 18

4 candidates on the ballot, listed in certified ballot order.

Race type
Contested
Candidates
4
Surveys returned
0 of 4
Race receipts
$49,076

John R. Marquardt

Not a sitting legislator

RepublicanBallot order 1

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.John has never held legislative office, so there are no roll calls to score.

Survey: no response recorded

With no voting record and no returned questionnaire, this page has nothing from them on data centers. Voters have no stated position to weigh.

Ask them to answer

Money — a signal, never a position

$15,450Total receipts reported
$750Matched a flag (A–D)
  • BUtility, power and energy interests$500
  • CThe PAC funnel$250

Flagged donors on recordSD Ethanol Producers PAC $500; Dusty PAC $250

Committee: Friends of John Marquardt.

A flag means a donor matched a category. It is not a finding that anything improper happened.

How to reach them

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Mike Stevens

Mike Stevens

Sitting legislator

RepublicanBallot order 2

Where they stand on data centers

67%protective votes — 2 of 3 tracked roll calls

Split record

Survey: no response recorded

The position above is drawn from roll-call votes only. This candidate has not answered the questionnaire in their own words.

Ask them to answer

Money — a signal, never a position

$29,560Total receipts reported
$850Matched a flag (A–D)
  • BUtility, power and energy interests$600
  • CThe PAC funnel$250

Flagged donors on recordDusty PAC $250; Steve Willard $250; South Dakota Wind Energy Association $200; OTTER TAIL CORPORATION PAC $150

Committee: Stevens For House.

A flag means a donor matched a category. It is not a finding that anything improper happened.

How to reach them

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Karen Springer

Not a sitting legislator

DemocratBallot order 3

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.Karen has never held legislative office, so there are no roll calls to score.

Survey: no response recorded

With no voting record and no returned questionnaire, this page has nothing from them on data centers. Voters have no stated position to weigh.

Money — a signal, never a position

$3,616Total receipts reported
—Matched a flag (A–D)

No itemized donors filed. That is not the same as having raised nothing.

Committee: Springer For South Dakota.

A flag means a donor matched a category. It is not a finding that anything improper happened.

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Jarod Holcomb

Not a sitting legislator

DemocratBallot order 4

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.Jarod has never held legislative office, so there are no roll calls to score.

Survey: no response recorded

With no voting record and no returned questionnaire, this page has nothing from them on data centers. Voters have no stated position to weigh.

Money — a signal, never a position

$450Total receipts reported
—Matched a flag (A–D)

No itemized donors filed. That is not the same as having raised nothing.

Committee: Holcomb For House.

A flag means a donor matched a category. It is not a finding that anything improper happened.

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What the flags mean

A · Data center and Big Tech
The industry itself, its lobbyists, and the trade group that testified for the 50-year tax break.
B · Utility, power and energy
Utilities, generators, transmission and the ethanol bloc — interests whose revenue rises with data center load.
C · The PAC funnel
Money arriving through a political action committee rather than directly.
D · Named individuals
People named in the underlying investigation.
E and F · Outside money
Large national spending and independent expenditure made for a candidate. Never the candidate’s own money, and never added to their receipts.

How the score is built

Roll calls on 2026 data center bills are tracked. A vote counts as protective when it sided with residents on cost, water, or local control.

Candidates with no legislative service have no score. That is shown as an absence, never as a zero.

Full roll calls and bill text: the legislative scorecard.

Correct the record

Every figure here traces to a state-published filing. If something is wrong, we want to fix it fast.

Candidates may submit a questionnaire response at any time; it is published verbatim beside the voting record.

Email corrections through the Elections page.