# John Hughes

John Hughes is a Republican member of the South Dakota House for district 13.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota House, district 13
- Serving since: 2025-01-14
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/123a6b73-d0a1-4263-96fd-a65373159918

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/123a6b73-d0a1-4263-96fd-a65373159918 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Hughes sits at −0.04 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 96% of State House Republicans.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.04 (standard error 0.01), from 80 donors and 297 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 4.0% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

638 roll calls. Attendance 99.2% (South Dakota House 96.6%). Party unity 93.5% (76%). 75 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-03-12 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 78 revise the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB78/
- 2026-03-12 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1051 revise property tax levies for school districts and to revise the state aid to general and special education formulas. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1051/
- 2026-03-12 · voted yea · Do Pass · HB 1326 appropriate money for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, judicial, and executive departments of the state, the current expenses of state… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1326/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 219 require that a state agency consult with the Aeronautics Commission prior to purchasing, transferring, or disposing of a state owned and operated… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB219/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 245 create the homeowner property tax reduction fund, and to transfer moneys to the homeowner property tax reduction fund. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB245/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 221 regulate the retail sale of nicotine products, and to provide a penalty therefor. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB221/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 222 make an appropriation for eligible water, wastewater, storm water, and riparian buffer initiative projects and to declare an emergency. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB222/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 119 create the capitol restoration fund and to transfer moneys thereto. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB119/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 106 modify the amount required to be set aside for extraordinary expenses incurred in providing special education programs. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB106/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · SB 102 modify the distribution of gaming revenues. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB102/

## Legislation (SD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 59 bills: 55 reached committee, 40 passed one chamber, 32 passed both, 29 became law. Cosponsored 0. 86.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota House 81.4%; rank 27 of 69).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HB 1274: prohibit the dispensing, distribution, sale, or advertisement of certain articles or things for purposes of an unlawful abortion and provide a criminal and… (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1274/
- HB 1300: except victims of human trafficking or domestic abuse from certain clemency notice requirements. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1300/
- HB 1313: require education in prenatal human growth and development. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1313/
- HB 1275: create requirements for age verification and parental consent for application stores and to provide a penalty therefor. (passed one chamber, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1275/
- HB 1261: provide a tax credit for owner-occupied property, to make an appropriation therefor, and to transfer moneys to the general fund. (passed both chambers, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1261/
- HB 1246: prohibit nondisclosure of certain agreements related to data centers. (in committee, 2026-02-20) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1246/
- SC 803: honoring the city of Deadwood on its 150th anniversary. (introduced, 2026-02-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC803/
- HB 1197: revise a provision related to the venue of adoption proceedings. (became law, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1197/
- HB 1218: create a new class of nonagricultural property for purposes of taxation, and to provide a penalty therefor. (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1218/
- HB 1217: limit the use of taxpayer funds and resources by a public education employer to support a labor organization or affiliate and to provide a penalty therefor. (in committee, 2026-02-18) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1217/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $53.0K (State House Republicans median $10.7K). 98% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4690/Detail
- Campaign site: https://www.johnhughesdistrict13.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/John-Hughes-for-District-13-House/61558128721185/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/123a6b73-d0a1-4263-96fd-a65373159918