# Aaron Aylward

Aaron Aylward is a Republican member of the South Dakota House for district 6.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota House, district 6
- Serving since: 2021-01-12
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/d3d7563b-420c-4498-8bc5-4f9d6ed90806

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d3d7563b-420c-4498-8bc5-4f9d6ed90806 (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

Aylward sits at −0.27 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 100% of State House Republicans.

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

260 classified statements: 260 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 | Aylward | State House Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 1.1% | 2.9% | 374 of 791 |
| Policy criticism | 14.2% | 9.3% | 185 of 791 |
| Policy discussion | 20.8% | 31.9% | 550 of 791 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.4% | 1.8% | 516 of 791 |
| Credit claiming | 0.0% | 12.7% | 764 of 791 |
| Extreme labels | 1.5% | 1.4% | 238 of 791 |

Most discussed policy areas: Government Operations and Politics 33% (State House Republicans 18%); Economics and Public Finance 20% (State House Republicans 12%); Taxation 19% (State House Republicans 8.1%); Armed Forces and National Security 11% (State House Republicans 4.9%); Crime and Law Enforcement 7.4% (State House Republicans 11%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.27 (standard error 0.01), from 45 donors and 849 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 0.3% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

638 roll calls. Attendance 92.1% (South Dakota House 96.6%). Party unity 90.4% (76%). 180 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-03-12 · voted nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 206 bills: 192 reached committee, 69 passed one chamber, 50 passed both, 42 became law. Cosponsored 0. 82.5% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota House 81.4%; rank 39 of 69).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SC 831: recognizing the historical significance of the buffalo and celebrating their return to tribal lands in this state. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC831/
- HC 8025: honoring the accomplishments of University of South Dakota women's basketball player Josie Hill. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HC8025/
- SC 824: honoring the 2025-2026 Canton C-Hawks boys wrestling team. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC824/
- HC 8023: honoring the legacy and strength of grandmothers in this state. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HC8023/
- SC 819: honoring the 2025-2026 Canton C-Hawk girls wrestling team. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC819/
- SC 826: celebrating the Wall High School Eagles as the 2025 Class 9A State Football Champions. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC826/
- SC 823: honoring the achievements of Canton C-Hawks wrestling team coach Jeremy Ask. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC823/
- HC 8017: commending the Harrisburg Tigers on their 2026 Class AA state gymnastics championship. (introduced, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HC8017/
- HB 1323: modify the requirements to refer an ordinance or resolution to the voters of a political subdivision. (passed both chambers, 2026-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1323/
- HB 1313: require education in prenatal human growth and development. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1313/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $10.9K (State House Republicans median $10.7K). 100% 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/Aylwardap/status/2113074154291470596
- 2026-10-17 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2111567621829390844
- 2026-10-11 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2109121932272775257
- 2026-10-06 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2107319302601011628
- 2026-08-27 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2093034320160080255
- 2026-08-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2091353007220748354
- 2026-08-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2090252234369933327
- 2026-07-30 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2082836573213819131
- 2026-07-23 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2080143254381617621
- 2026-07-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/Aylwardap/status/2072904262112235917

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4474/Detail
- X: https://x.com/Aylwardap
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron.aylward.12
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron.aylward.district.6.state.house
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-aylward-53911b73

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d3d7563b-420c-4498-8bc5-4f9d6ed90806