# Jeff Bathke

Jeff Bathke is a Republican member of the South Dakota House for district 20.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota House, district 20
- Serving since: 2025-01-14
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/94fa8c46-b27a-452e-85b2-27baca009678

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/94fa8c46-b27a-452e-85b2-27baca009678 (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

Bathke missed 51% of 638 roll calls, the lowest attendance of 70 in the South Dakota House (average 96.6%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.29 (standard error 0.03), from 11 donors and 143 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 40% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

638 roll calls. Attendance 49% (South Dakota House 96.6%). Party unity 44% (76%). 69 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-03-12 · voted not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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 44 bills: 43 reached committee, 31 passed one chamber, 25 passed both, 19 became law. Cosponsored 0. 88.6% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota House 81.4%; rank 19 of 69).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HB 1143: authorize the possession and self-administration of diabetes medications by a student on school property and at school-related events and activities. (became law, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1143/
- SJR 504: proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, providing for wagering on… (passed one chamber, 2026-02-25) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SJR504/
- HB 1086: make an appropriation for providing a grant to a nonprofit that delivers programming to support offenders and correctional staff. (passed both chambers, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1086/
- HB 1072: provide an appropriation for a payment for state employee salaries. (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1072/
- HB 1056: require that the Department of Social Services submit a federal waiver request to exclude soft drinks from the supplemental nutrition assistance program. (became law, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1056/
- HC 8024: Recognizing the City of Mitchell as the Governor's Office of Economic Development 2025 Community of the Year. (introduced, 2025-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2025/HC8024/
- SB 95: make an appropriation to the Department of Revenue for distribution to county rural access infrastructure funds and to declare an emergency. (passed both chambers, 2025-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2025/SB95/
- SB 169: require a public hearing prior to a vote to impose an excess tax levy. (passed one chamber, 2025-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2025/SB169/
- HB 1155: revise the annual reporting period for public safety answering points. (passed one chamber, 2025-03-05) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2025/HB1155/
- HB 1261: provide the board of commissioners with authority over certain intra-county land uses and construction projects. (passed one chamber, 2025-02-27) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2025/HB1261/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $6,499 (State House Republicans median $10.7K). 100% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4688/Detail
- X: https://x.com/JeffBathke
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Jeff-Bathke-District-20-House-of-Representatives-100079783460527/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-bathke-09189659/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/94fa8c46-b27a-452e-85b2-27baca009678