# John Sjaarda

John Sjaarda is a Republican member of the South Dakota House for district 2.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota House, district 2
- Serving since: 2023-01-10
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/fe5950b8-b6e8-4a95-87b5-fd569f43b286

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/fe5950b8-b6e8-4a95-87b5-fd569f43b286 (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

Sjaarda sits at −0.15 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 99% of State House Republicans.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.15 (standard error 0.01), from 69 donors and 642 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 1.5% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

727 roll calls. Attendance 99.1% (South Dakota House 96.6%). Party unity 98.2% (76%). 139 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/
- 2026-03-11 · voted nay · Do Pass Amended · SB 78 revise the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB78/
- 2026-03-11 · 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/
- 2026-03-11 · 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 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/

## Legislation (SD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 143 bills: 135 reached committee, 65 passed one chamber, 52 passed both, 45 became law. Cosponsored 0. 86.7% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota House 81.4%; rank 25 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 1257: amend the definition of an abortion. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1257/
- SC 812: to acknowledge Glenn Muller's distinguished career and congratulate him on his achievements. (introduced, 2026-02-24) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC812/
- HC 8013: recognizing the Agricultural Issues team of the West Central FFA chapter and celebrating their first-place victory in the state competition and their journey… (introduced, 2026-02-23) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HC8013/
- HB 1313: require education in prenatal human growth and development. (became law, 2026-03-30) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1313/
- HB 1321: require that county treasurers calculate excise tax using the amount shown on a bill of sale for a used vehicle sold, leased, or transferred by a person other… (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1321/
- HB 1271: prohibit weather and climate modification activities and provide a penalty therefor. (in committee, 2026-02-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1271/
- HB 1269: require that manufacturers of agricultural equipment allow an independent repair provider or an owner to make certain repairs to agricultural equipment. (in committee, 2026-02-17) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1269/
- HB 1294: prohibit geoengineering in this state. (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1294/
- 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/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $18.6K (State House Republicans median $10.7K). 91% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4561/Detail
- Campaign site: https://www.johnsjaarda.net/
- TikTok: https://www.facebook.com/john.sjaarda
- TikTok: https://www.facebook.com/SjaardaforSD

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/fe5950b8-b6e8-4a95-87b5-fd569f43b286