# Scott Odenbach

Scott Odenbach is a Republican member of the South Dakota House for district 31.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota House, district 31
- Serving since: 2021-01-12
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/18602d7b-fb7f-495b-bf94-2b0da2aae00f

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/18602d7b-fb7f-495b-bf94-2b0da2aae00f (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

Odenbach sits at −0.08 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 97% of State House Republicans.

## What Odenbach says (SD 2025–26 session)

670 classified statements: 670 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Odenbach | State House Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.6% | 2.9% | 440 of 791 |
| Policy criticism | 4.5% | 9.3% | 476 of 791 |
| Policy discussion | 21.2% | 31.9% | 538 of 791 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.1% | 1.8% | 550 of 791 |
| Credit claiming | 1.8% | 12.7% | 681 of 791 |
| Extreme labels | 1.9% | 1.4% | 200 of 791 |

Most discussed policy areas: Economics and Public Finance 18% (State House Republicans 12%); Immigration 15% (State House Republicans 4.7%); Education 14% (State House Republicans 15%); Government Operations and Politics 9.2% (State House Republicans 18%); Health 7.8% (State House Republicans 10%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.08 (standard error 0.01), from 43 donors and 902 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 3.0% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

640 roll calls. Attendance 100% (South Dakota House 96.6%). Party unity 94.9% (76%). 109 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 39 bills: 39 reached committee, 21 passed one chamber, 18 passed both, 16 became law. Cosponsored 0. 92.3% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota House 81.4%; rank 8 of 69).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HB 1089: modify the distributions of revenues collected from severance taxation on new permits. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1089/
- HB 1313: require education in prenatal human growth and development. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1313/
- SB 222: make an appropriation for eligible water, wastewater, storm water, and riparian buffer initiative projects and to declare an emergency. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB222/
- 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 1253: adjust the assessment methodology for owner-occupied single-family dwellings and nonagricultural property. (passed one chamber, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1253/
- HB 1222: prohibit members of the Board of Economic Development from having any interest in moneys from or approved by the Board of Economic Development. (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1222/
- SB 148: terminate bounty payments for the control of nest predation. (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB148/
- SB 135: protect residents from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers and clarify authority to regulate data centers. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB135/
- HCR 6003: recognizing the importance of conservation and restoration practices in addressing water shortages and forest fire mitigation in the Black Hills, and… (in committee, 2026-01-26) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HCR6003/
- SB 113: increase the penalty for preventing practice of religion. (became law, 2026-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB113/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $21.1K (State House Republicans median $10.7K). 76% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2113352152345419789
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2113352976329003220
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2112952879195521177
- 2026-10-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2112376811770581019
- 2026-10-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2112506186465464804
- 2026-10-19 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2112153770792788281
- 2026-10-17 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2111442469648830573
- 2026-10-17 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2111555031640236056
- 2026-10-16 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2110935922946773446
- 2026-10-15 · Post on X · https://x.com/ScottOdenbach/status/2110740785117159621

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4538/Detail
- Campaign site: https://scottodenbach.com/
- X: https://x.com/ScottOdenbach
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scott.odenbach
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OdenbachForSDHouse
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/scottodenbach
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Odinish
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-odenbach-85612014/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/18602d7b-fb7f-495b-bf94-2b0da2aae00f