SD Data Center TransparencyVolunteer

General election · 3 November 2026

State Senate, District 4

One candidate on the ballot. This race is unopposed.

Race type
Unopposed
Candidates
1
Surveys returned
0 of 1
Race receipts
$18,175
Stephanie Sauder

Stephanie Sauder

Sitting legislator

RepublicanBallot order 1

Where they stand on data centers

50%protective votes — 2 of 4 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.

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Money — a signal, never a position

$18,175Total itemized receipts
$2,250Matched a flag (A–D)
  • BUtility, power and energy interests$1,250
  • CThe PAC funnel$1,000

Flagged donors on recordSD Ethanol Producers PAC $1,000; Dusty PAC $500; Pac'n Heat 2.0 $500; Steve Willard $250

Spent for them by others

Independent expenditure. This is not the candidate’s money and they do not control it.

  • FIndependent expenditure spent for them$32,244

Committee: Sauder for Senate.

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

The itemized ledger and the reported total disagree for this committee. Both figures are published; the larger is shown above.

How to reach them

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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.