# Chris Karr

Chris Karr is a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate for district 11.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota Senate, district 11
- Serving since: 2017-01-10
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/85616a5d-63b7-4794-8eb0-63ab7b121761

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/85616a5d-63b7-4794-8eb0-63ab7b121761 (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

Karr sits at −0.11 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 98% of State Senate Republicans.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.11 (standard error 0.01), from 34 donors and 1,244 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 2.4% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

569 roll calls. Attendance 99.1% (South Dakota Senate 96.6%). Party unity 91.2% (76%). 68 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 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/
- 2026-03-12 · 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 Amended · SB 78 revise the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB78/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1006 create a taskforce to study the creation of Indian medicaid managed care entities in the state. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1006/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1241 modify the requirements for public notice of a hearing prior to a vote to impose an excess tax levy, and to modify requirements to refer an excess tax… · fail · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1241/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass · HB 1140 permit a court to impose as a condition of probation, or parole in certain circumstances, treatment at a nonprofit entity awarded an alternative care… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1140/
- 2026-03-09 · voted nay · Do Pass · HB 1160 repeal the medical marijuana oversight committee. · fail · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1160/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1184 define man and woman throughout the state. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1184/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1241 modify the requirements for public notice of a hearing prior to a vote to impose an excess tax levy, and to modify requirements to refer an excess tax… · fail · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1241/
- 2026-03-09 · voted nay · Do Pass Amended · HB 1082 establish parameters for the reimbursement of school districts that provide free or reduced-price meals to students. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1082/

## Legislation (SD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 37 bills: 36 reached committee, 18 passed one chamber, 14 passed both, 13 became law. Cosponsored 0. 91.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota Senate 78.2%; rank 4 of 34).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 221: regulate the retail sale of nicotine products, and to provide a penalty therefor. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB221/
- SJR 508: proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election, amendments to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, removing the lieutenant… (passed one chamber, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SJR508/
- 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/
- SB 228: modify provisions for a tax increment financing district. (became law, 2026-03-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB228/
- SB 196: increase the income limits for a property tax assessment freeze. (in committee, 2026-02-24) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB196/
- SB 198: restrict the use of a cell phone by a student during the school day. (passed one chamber, 2026-03-05) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB198/
- HB 1215: authorize counties and municipalities to issue a license for a cigar bar. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1215/
- SB 197: modify the administration of the South Dakota-Ireland trade fund. (became law, 2026-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB197/
- SB 199: establish a new fund to provide property tax relief. (in committee, 2026-02-23) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB199/
- SB 195: repeal the expiration of a reduction in certain gross receipts and use tax rates. (in committee, 2026-02-18) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB195/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $25.8K (State Senate Republicans median $28.3K). 80% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4513/Detail
- Campaign site: http://www.karrforhouse.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silveradostudchriskarr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskarrforhouse/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-karr-7243b361/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/85616a5d-63b7-4794-8eb0-63ab7b121761