General election · 3 November 2026

State House, District 17

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

Race type: Contested
Candidates: 4
Surveys returned: 0 of 4
Race receipts: $46,559

Chris Kassin

Sitting legislator · Nonprofit Administration, Vermillion

RepublicanBallot order 1Filed 13 Jan 2026

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

$30,700Total itemized receipts

$2,500From flagged donors

Utility, power and energy interests$1,000
The PAC funnel$500
Individuals named in the investigation$1,000

Flagged donors on recordMatthew Paulson $1,000; Dusty PAC $500; NextEra Energy Resources Development LLC $500; SD Ethanol Producers PAC $500

Committee: Friends of Chris Kassin.

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

Official emailChris.Kassin@sdlegislature.gov
Campaign emailckassin23@gmail.com
Switchboard(605) 773-3851
Campaign phone(605) 670-9698
Websitechriskassin.com

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Troy Redler

Not a sitting legislator · Dakota Dunes

RepublicanBallot order 2Filed 30 Mar 2026

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.Troy 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

$2,798Total receipts reported

—From flagged donors

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

Committee: Troy Redler For House Of Representatives.

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

How to reach them

Campaign emailtredler@redlersltc.com
Campaign phone(712) 560-2219

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Austin Brunick

Not a sitting legislator · Elk Point

DemocratBallot order 3Filed 20 Mar 2026

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.Austin 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

$1,844Total receipts reported

—From flagged donors

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

Committee: Austin Brunick For District 17.

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

How to reach them

Campaign emailaustinbrunickford17@gmail.com
Campaign phone(605) 610-6783

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Leslie Gerrish

Not a sitting legislator · Vermillion

DemocratBallot order 4Filed 3 Feb 2026

Where they stand on data centers

Nothing on record.Leslie 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

$11,217Total receipts reported

—From flagged donors

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

Committee: Leslie Gerrish For House.

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

How to reach them

Campaign emailleslieforsd@gmail.com
Campaign phone(605) 496-9642

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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.