Follow the Money publishes an analysis of the competitiveness of legislative elections nationwide. Alas, it's not for the cycle that just got done; it's for 2011–2012. But it's still instructive.
You may think South Dakota does a bad job of recruiting candidates to make our Legislative contests real contests. Indeed, in 2012, a whopping 30% of our 105 seats in the Legislature went unchallenged. Worse, only 33% of our Legislative races were "monetarily competitive," which Follow the Money defines as the top losing candidate raising at least half of what the winning candidate raised (or, in the case of a race with multiple seats available, like our House races, the top loser raising at least half of the average raised by the winners).
But things are tough all over and mostly tougher than here. On monetary competitiveness, South Dakota's Legislative races rank 8th nationwide:
| State | Number of Seats up for Election | Percent of Seats Contested | Percent of Seats in Monetarily Competitive Races | Rank |
| Alaska | 59 | 71% | 37% | 6 |
| Arizona | 90 | 69% | 48% | 4 |
| Arkansas | 135 | 53% | 30% | 10 |
| California | 100 | 98% | 23% | 15 |
| Colorado | 85 | 99% | 28% | 12 |
| Connecticut | 187 | 81% | 51% | 3 |
| Delaware | 62 | 61% | 23% | 16 |
| Florida | 160 | 65% | 8% | 45 |
| Georgia | 235 | 23% | 3% | 47 |
| Hawaii | 76 | 63% | 17% | 26 |
| Idaho | 105 | 78% | 20% | 23 |
| Illinois | 177 | 44% | 14% | 33 |
| Indiana | 125 | 73% | 22% | 17 |
| Iowa | 126 | 77% | 23% | 14 |
| Kansas | 165 | 72% | 22% | 18 |
| Kentucky | 119 | 48% | 14% | 32 |
| Louisiana | 144 | 56% | 15% | 29 |
| Maine | 186 | 96% | 71% | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 200 | 38% | 15% | 31 |
| Michigan | 110 | 99% | 13% | 35 |
| Minnesota | 201 | 97% | 48% | 5 |
| Mississippi | 174 | 44% | 11% | 38 |
| Missouri | 180 | 53% | 10% | 40 |
| Montana | 126 | 82% | 29% | 11 |
| Nebraska | 25 | 84% | 32% | 9 |
| Nevada | 54 | 81% | 20% | 21 |
| New Hampshire | 424 | 90% | 70% | 2 |
| New Mexico | 112 | 51% | 21% | 20 |
| New York | 213 | 72% | 11% | 39 |
| North Carolina | 170 | 59% | 8% | 42 |
| North Dakota | 69 | 87% | 35% | 7 |
| Ohio | 117 | 86% | 16% | 27 |
| Oklahoma | 125 | 38% | 9% | 41 |
| Oregon | 76 | 86% | 25% | 13 |
| Pennsylvania | 228 | 53% | 13% | 36 |
| Rhode Island | 113 | 58% | 16% | 28 |
| South Carolina | 170 | 31% | 8% | 42 |
| South Dakota | 105 | 70% | 33% | 8 |
| Tennessee | 115 | 58% | 13% | 34 |
| Texas | 181 | 61% | 6% | 46 |
| Utah | 90 | 86% | 12% | 37 |
| Vermont | 182 | 57% | 20% | 24 |
| Virginia | 138 | 46% | 15% | 30 |
| Washington | 124 | 80% | 20% | 22 |
| West Virginia | 117 | 79% | 21% | 19 |
| Wisconsin | 115 | 75% | 18% | 25 |
| Wyoming | 75 | 36% | 8% | 44 |
We beat the national averages of 66% of seats contested and 24% of seats monetarily competitive.
Follow the Money notes that three of the five most monetarily competitive states— Maine, Connecticut, and Arizona—make full public financing available to legislative candidates. A fourth member of the top five, Minnesota, offers partial public campaign financing.
South Dakota ranks down in the bottom ten in a category where we should be happy to lag—the actual cost of running for Legislature:
| State | Average Raised by Highest Legislative Fundraisers |
Rank |
| Alaska | $65,978 | 28 |
| Arizona | $48,898 | 34 |
| Arkansas | $65,584 | 29 |
| California | $864,811 | 1 |
| Colorado | $71,301 | 26 |
| Connecticut | $42,022 | 37 |
| Delaware | $43,489 | 36 |
| Florida | $234,632 | 9 |
| Georgia | $80,305 | 23 |
| Hawaii | $67,806 | 27 |
| Idaho | $31,783 | 39 |
| Illinois | $437,193 | 3 |
| Indiana | $126,900 | 15 |
| Iowa | $141,223 | 14 |
| Kansas | $52,725 | 32 |
| Kentucky | $84,911 | 22 |
| Louisiana | $198,108 | 10 |
| Maine | $10,315 | 43 |
| Massachusetts | $85,248 | 21 |
| Michigan | $106,888 | 19 |
| Minnesota | $37,936 | 38 |
| Mississippi | $54,222 | 31 |
| Missouri | $121,242 | 17 |
| Montana | $12,313 | 42 |
| Nebraska | $119,586 | 18 |
| Nevada | $188,327 | 11 |
| New Hampshire | $4,508 | 47 |
| New Mexico | $62,364 | 30 |
| New York | $249,530 | 7 |
| North Carolina | $162,599 | 12 |
| North Dakota | $7,987 | 45 |
| Ohio | $310,648 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | $104,250 | 20 |
| Oregon | $251,776 | 6 |
| Pennsylvania | $235,657 | 8 |
| Rhode Island | $30,853 | 40 |
| South Carolina | $74,705 | 24 |
| South Dakota | $19,439 | 41 |
| Tennessee | $122,105 | 16 |
| Texas | $526,064 | 2 |
| Utah | $51,259 | 33 |
| Vermont | $4,974 | 46 |
| Virginia | $330,190 | 4 |
| Washington | $145,582 | 13 |
| West Virginia | $44,780 | 35 |
| Wisconsin | $72,681 | 25 |
| Wyoming | $9,606 | 44 |
| Nationwide | $131,672 |
$19,439 to run for a part-time job in Pierre is more than any sane person should spend, but the average top amount raised in each legislative race in South Dakota in 2012 was just a little more than one seventh the average top legislative campaign haul nationwide.
Stay tuned: I may be able to update these figures with some South Dakota campaign finance data for 2014... but note that legislative candidates don't have to file their year-end campaign finance reports to incoming Secretary of State Shantel Krebs until February 5, 2015. (That's two days after the final day for legislators to submit individual bills—don't forget, legislators!)