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No endorsement
Update — October 25, 2026: Verification review corrected this race's file and withdrew the endorsement below. The original article treated incumbent Tom Pischke as simply not on the ballot and Bryan Breitling as a generic independent with no record. The sourced record is: Pischke won the Republican primary, was charged with two felony counts of filing a false or forged instrument (he pleaded not guilty), withdrew on July 28, 2026, and the Minnehaha County Republican Party replaced him with Bart Sample (SDPB; South Dakota Searchlight). Breitling is a former Republican state senator (he won the 2022 District 23 Republican Senate primary) running as an independent who tells voters, in his own words, “I'm a Republican running as an independent” (South Dakota Searchlight). Corrected call below: no endorsement. ## The race
Senate District 25 elects 1 seat in 2026. The incumbent of record is Tom Pischke (Republican). The seat is open: the incumbent is not on the general-election ballot. On the confirmed general-election roster (Ballotpedia compilation; see Sources): Bart Sample (Republican), Bryan Breitling (Independent). How the ballot formed: Pischke won the Republican primary unopposed, then withdrew July 28, 2026 after being charged with two felony counts of filing a false or forged instrument in a county precinct-committee filing dispute; he pleaded not guilty and a December trial date was reported (SDPB; South Dakota Searchlight). The county Republican Party replaced him on the ballot with Bart Sample, who had finished third in the June House District 25 Republican primary (South Dakota Searchlight).
Bart Sample (Republican). On the compiled record, Bart Sample is a confirmed general-election candidate for this seat. No detailed voting-record or biography file beyond the roster was verified at this sourcing depth, and we do not invent one.
Pros: Runs under the party whose program — Constitution, free markets, faith, freedom — this publication supports; Republicans are in-tent, and intra-party questions are priced on records, not faction labels. Cons: No proven in-service flaw meeting this publication's standard was located in the compiled record. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.
Bryan Breitling (Independent). On the compiled record, Bryan Breitling is a confirmed general-election candidate for this seat. No detailed voting-record or biography file beyond the roster was verified at this sourcing depth, and we do not invent one.
Pros: A former Republican state senator with a prior term of Senate service; describes himself as a Republican running as an independent (South Dakota Searchlight). Cons: He is not the Republican nominee, and his one sourced self-description does not by itself earn this publication's endorsement over the nominee; his Senate voting record was not verified at this pass's sourcing depth. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.
OUR CALL
We make no endorsement in this race. Sample is the Republican nominee, in-tent under our criteria, with no proven flaw located — but nothing in the verified file distinguishes him from Breitling, a former Republican state senator running as an independent who describes himself as a Republican. The original endorsement rested on treating Breitling as a record-less independent; that premise was wrong. An endorsement is earned with math and consistency, not by ballot label alone. Both men are on watch; if a distinguishing record surfaces before November 3, this page will say so in a dated note.
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Sources
- Ballotpedia, "South Dakota State Senate elections, 2026" — roster, incumbency, open-seat status — https://ballotpedia.org/South_Dakota_State_Senate_elections,_2026
- Sabato's Crystal Ball, "The Key State Legislative Races" (October 2026) — both South Dakota chambers rated Safe Republican — https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/the-key-state-legislative-races-gop-plays-defense-in-midwest-and-elsewhere/
- Ballotpedia News, May 20, 2026 — record contested incumbents/primaries context — https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/05/20/record-high-number-of-contested-incumbents-in-south-dakotas-state-legislative-elections-this-year/
- Roster note carried from the inventory: Incumbent not on general ballot per source (retiring or defeated in primary; District 25 incumbent listed as did not make the ballot)
- Record gaps: no district partisan baseline, detailed legislative voting record, or campaign-finance figures for these nominees were verified at this sourcing depth; the South Dakota Secretary of State's 2026 candidate list was located but not paginated in full in the roster pass, so roster strength remains compilation (Ballotpedia), not SOS
- Standing check: no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard (knowing association with or defense of a convicted pedophile) was located for any candidate on this ballot.
- SDPB, July 28 and August 31, 2026; South Dakota Searchlight via Rapid City Post, October 2026 — Pischke charges, withdrawal and Sample replacement; Breitling's Senate service and self-description
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.
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