Democrat Nicole Uhre-Balk wins election, will represent Rapid City in South Dakota House

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Democrats only won eight seats in the South Dakota state legislature Tuesday night after more than 100 races. One of those democrats is Nicole Uhre-Balk, receiving the most votes in District 32.

A former teacher at Central High School, Uhre-Balk will head to Pierre January 14 to represent parts of Rapid City. She says education is a top priority as she enters the world of politics.

"We do have some of the lowest teacher pay in the nation and also just compared to our neighboring states," Uhre-Balk said. "And so, we have a teacher shortage, and we need to be looking at that."

Uhre-Balk was an active campaigner, often going door-to-door in District 32 in an effort to win votes.

"We knocked on enough doors to potentially talk to 4,000 voters," Uhre-Balk mentioned.

Uhre-Balk will join fellow State Representative Steve Duffy and State Senator Helene Duhamel in serving District 32. Despite belonging to a different political party, Uhre-Balk says she's happy to collaborate with Duffy and Duhamel.

"I'm excited to work with Steve and Helene as our District 32 team, and we might not agree on everything, but I think we'll work well together," Uhre-Balk said.

This is the first time a democrat will represent District 32 in the South Dakota House since 2006.