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• The last time Democrats controlled a South Dakota legislative chamber was during the two-year period after the 1992 election, when they held 20 Senate seats to the Republicans' 15.
• As in all recent years, Republicans started this year with an advantage by fielding candidates for more seats in both the Senate and House.
• The GOP ran candidates for 33 of 35 Senate seats, while Democrats had just 24. Republicans had candidates for 62 of 70 House seats, while Democrats contested only 51.
• Each of the state's 35 legislative districts elects one senator and two at-large representatives, except in two areas where Senate districts are split into two House districts, each of which elects its own House member. Those single-member House districts were created to give Native Americans in northwestern and south-central South Dakota a chance to elect House members of their choice.
• This year's legislative campaign is the first after districts were redrawn to account for population changes reported in the 2010 census. Those new districts, along with some lawmakers' attempts to switch chambers, have pitted some incumbents against each other.
• Among the races drawing attention is a match between Republican Sen. Al Novstrup of Aberdeen and Rep. Paul Dennert of Aberdeen, who was term-limited in the House and moved from his farm near Columbia to Aberdeen to challenge Novstrup. If Dennert had stayed at his old address, he would have been in the same district as a current Democratic senator.
• In another northeastern district, Democratic Rep. Steve Street of Milbank is challenging Republican Sen. Tim Begalka of Clear Lake. In southeastern South Dakota, Democratic Rep. Frank Kloucek of Scotland, a 22-year veteran of the Legislature, is running for the Senate against Republican Bill Van Gerpen of Tyndall, who is seeking to return to the Legislature after serving eight years in three different periods.
• In another closely watched race, former Democratic lawmaker Dan Ahlers of Dell Rapids is running against Republican Sen. Tim Rave of Baltic. And Democratic Rep. Larry Lucas of Mission is running for the Senate against Republican Sen. Kent Juhnke of Vivian.
• In many districts, legislative races revolve around the personalities of candidates well-known to local voters, but those races play out against the backdrop of statewide issues.
• Those issues include budget cuts made by the governor and the Republican-dominated Legislature in state aid to school districts and Medicaid providers, a move that prompted a teachers union and health care organization to put a pro

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