Simplified: Sioux Falls Simplified spoke face-to-face with dozens of legislative candidates in the metro area. All candidates were asked the same slate of questions, and you can find comprehensive coverage for each district at sfsimplified.com.

Don't know your legislative district? This interactive map can help you find it.

Here's what we asked:

How do you plan to seek input from your constituents? What’s the best way for people to reach you with their feedback and hold you accountable as a lawmaker?

Here's what candidates said:

District 2

Adam Long: "First thing I'm going to do is every day I leave the Pierre floor is I'm going to go Facebook live. It's just one thing I can do to be able to give people an opportunity to know exactly what went on that day. ...

  • "I am a communicator. It's what I do. I love to talk to people. I’m passionate about it, and I want people to know what going on. I want people to understand it, because I was one of them at one point – I didn't understand it. I had my head in the sand and, too many things happened that I wouldn't have gone for. I believe that to be the case for many.
  • "I've been nothing but 100% transparent, i’ll continue to do that. My cell phone is available on my site. People can call me or text me."

Manuel Luschas: "I want to be a representative of my constituents here in District 2. I've made that very clear to the members of the district that I've talked to so far that they can reach out any time to me.

  • "What is special, I guess, about my campaign is that I refuse, and I will keep refusing to be on social media. ... We have a website. Everything is gonna be put there. That's how people will be able to reach me."

Blake Rife suggested people comment on his Facebook page or reach out via Facebook. If elected, he'll also use his state legislative email.

  • "It is my expectation that you are going to be an active citizen in what’s going on. Call us, talk to us, I’d love to hear from you."

See more from District 2 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 2 folks looking to represent you in Pierre
District 2's lone state senate seat has already been decided as Sen. John Sjaarda will return to Pierre unopposed and in a new chamber. But, the district has three men vying to represent its people in two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 6

Garret Campbell: "I am door knocking currently, and Facebook is open if people want to send me a message. If I were to get elected I like the idea of quarterly town halls, making yourself available on a known time for people to give input."

Jerry Jongeling: "My phone number is always available. My email is out there. I like talking to people. I know we don't always agree, and that's perfectly fine. I like to hear what everyone’s perspective is."

Elliott Neff said he doesn't do politics on social media, but he encourages people to reach out via his campaign website.

  • "I would love to see more people involved, educated and informed. I do believe I've got an open mind, and I've been given a gift that I've developed over many years of complex problem- solving. I welcome being surrounded with people who are more knowledgable than me."

Austin Wolf: "That’s my biggest thing is accountability. I put my cell phone on everything. For better or worse people are using that."

  • Wolf also cited his facebook page and a desire to hold community forums.
  • "I do really care about this. I deeply care about this community and this district. Whether I get one vote or enough votes to win, I just want to make sure people have an honest choice."

See more from District 6 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 6 folks looking to represent you in Pierre
District 6's lone senate seat has already been decided, as Ernie Otten will return to Pierre unopposed. But there's a full slate of candidates vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representative.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 9

Amanda Potter: "I’m everywhere. I’m a marketer. I'm on social media. I have my email and phone on all my literature.

  • "I welcome feedback, and I also plan to do town halls and coffees. I know the League of Women Voters does wonderful coffees during session, and sadly, a lot of time, reps don't show up.
  • "That will not be me. I plan to be there. I plan to be an active participant in all of this, and I plan to truly be a public servant."

Megan Tschetter: "I’m an open book. I’m always available, and the best way to reach me is probably by phone or they can reach me on social media. I have a Facebook page."

Tesa Schwans: "Everything that I hand out has my personal number on there.

  • "I don't have two separate phones. I have one phone, and it's for my business and legislation, so my phone is with me all the time. They can also contact me on my legislative email: tesa.schwans@sdlegislature.gov."

See more from District 9 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 9 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 9's lone senate seat has already been decided, and Sen. Joy Hohn will return to Pierre for another term. Three women are vying for the remaining two state house seats in a rare all-female district representing Hartford and northwest Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 10

Liz Larson (Senate): "I have my cell phone number on the website, and anybody can literally call me on my cell phone. I also go door to door at this time of year, which I love because I get to talk to people and hear their stories. On my legislative (email) account, if someone mentions that they are a constituent of mine, I will always respond."

Michael Dupic (Senate): Declined to be interviewed.

Adam Bair (House): "I am always open to feedback from anybody. One thing I decided right off the bat when I started this process was, if I felt like I was uninformed about an issue, I would seek out input from someone who knew what they were talking about. ... I am always open and willing to hear somebody’s perspective and experience. I think ultimately I learn from that feedback."

Kathleen Brudvig (House): "I think accountability and transparency in public service is of utmost importance, and I am committed to both of those. I am committed to hearing and listening to my constituents because after all that’s what I want to do with this job – go to Pierre and represent the people that have elected me.

  • "The best way to reach me as a candidate is my email: kathleenforhouse@gmail.com. As a representative would be the (state legislature) email and office phone number. I’m committed to talking with constituents."

Kimberly Petterson (House): "Email and phone number. I would want people to reach out to me as much as possible. I would also take the time when possible whether it’s during session – I don’t know what the down time is – I would continue to keep in touch with many of the constituents I’ve met by door knocking."

John Pohlman (House): "My email address is john@pohlmanforsd.com. I have a website. Anybody can reach out to me either of those two ways.

  • "I anticipate, if elected, creating some sort of a newsletter that would establish more of a back-and-forth between me and my constituents."

See more from District 10 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 10 folks looking to represent you in Pierre
District 10 is one of few districts in the Sioux Falls area that was able to field both Democratic and Republican candidates in both the house and senate races. Meet the candidates here.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 11

Chris Karr (Senate): Did not respond to interview requests.

Aaron Matson (Senate): "I want very much to be a legislator who listens.

  • "I’ve heard from many people not necessarily just in my district who get frustrated when they email or call their legislature and don’t hear back. I will be faithful in checking my email and phone when that’s assigned. I’ll keep my campaign email so people can reach out there too. I want to try to have coffees around my district or some kind of lunches or brown-bag events to hear people. ... I really do want to hear from the people of my district. That’s what public service is about."

Brian Mulder (House): "I have put out there my email, cell phone, social media pages. I'm pretty open that way and easy to get ahold of, so that's the way it would be. I answer my own cell phone."

Sonja Mentzer (House): "I’ve already started door knocking, so I’m out asking people directly what are their concerns and what would they like to see prioritized in Pierre. I’m absolutely face to face with individuals every day now until elections day. Anybody can reach out, and it doesn’t matter political party."

Tracey Quint (House): "I definitely want people to reach out to me whether it’s through social media, email or whatever.

  • "I think the thing about running as a third-party candidate is I don’t have a huge party line backing me. I don’t have a lot of pressure hitting me, and I also don’t have a lot of funding to run. That’s a trade-off. I think running as a third-party candidate, I don’t have the pressure of a huge party saying this is our party line. I think a lot of us fall into that middle line, and we want to be represented, not necessarily polarized."

Keri Weems (House): "I get a lot of texts and I get a lot of emails. So that’s a good way to get ahold of me. Unfortunately with all the spam calls that we get, text is probably the best, and then email. I do a lot of door knocking, and I try and do that even when I’m not running so that I can touch base with people. Also I probably need to do more community coffees."

See more from District 11 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 11 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
Six candidates are looking to represent this geographically small but populous district, and both house and senate seats are contested.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 12

Amber Arlint (House): "I am so extroverted. I love people, and one of my favorite things to do is to go door-to-door and meet with my constituents.

  • "As far as when it’s legislative session, I work really, really hard to get back to constituents when they do a direct email to me. The way I prioritize getting back to constituents is first in my district, then in Sioux Falls, and then other emails I get from citizens in South Dakota."

Stephanie Arne (House): "I have an email: hello@stephanieforSD.com and a website where people can reach me."

Kerry Loudenslager (House): "My website is kerryforsd.com. I’m encouraging all my constituents to get on that link. There’s a Facebook link on there too, and you can see my contact info, email, and phone number.

  • "When people ask me why I want to be a politician, I say I don’t even like that word. I see myself as a representative for the people, and how can I do that if I don’t know where they stand on issues? I’m asking for input from constituents."

Kari Shanard-Koenders (Senate): "Being accountable is one of the things that I really appreciate about this job. ... I’m not one of those people that just gets angry when called out on a mistake. I’m easy to interact with on those lines.

  • "My website will be available. I’ll have a state legislative email if I get elected. ... It's super important to be able to be reached and to return emails and calls."

Joe Zweifel (Senate): Could not be reached for comment.

See more from District 12 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 12 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 12 has some heavy hitters who are no longer in play. Here's a closer look at who's looking to represent the central and southwest Sioux Falls district.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 13

Ali Rae Horsted: "I'll be seeking input with door knocking and attending various events with different groups here in my community. You can always reach me by email. I’m also a big fan of legislative coffees/forums. That’s something I would commit to doing."

John Hughes: "Email or my cell phone or office."

Jack Kolbeck: "You can go on legislative website to find my phone and email. I’ve been known to return phone calls. I try to answer questions as much as I can. I’m very accessible."

See more from candidates in District 13:

Meet the Dist. 13 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 13's lone state senate seat has already been decided as veteran lawmaker Sue Peterson will run unopposed. Meanwhile, three people are vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 14

Taylor Rae Rehfeldt: Could not be reached for comment before deadline.

Tyler Tordsen: "I’m running to be accessible, accountable and effective. People need to be able to have their voice heard whatever their means of communication. I have my cell on everything – website, email. I want feedback; I want to hear from folks. I want to be a voice and I want to be able to provide answers. I want to be helpful. It’s what I would want in my reps."

Erinn Williams: "I send a lot of emails to my legislators. I call people, I text people."

See more from District 14 candidates:

Meet the Dist. 14 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 14's senate seat is already decided as Larry Zikmund will return to Pierre unopposed. That leaves three people vying for the two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 15

June CopperStad (House): "My email is super easy: june@juneforsd.com. I’ve also got a Facebook page where people can message me directly, and a P.O. Box if people want to write me. You can also send a voicemail/text to 605-800-6630."

Brenda Lawrence (Senate): Could not be reached for comment before publication deadline.

Erik Muckey (Senate): "You can email, call or text me. My legislative email is erik.muckey@sdlegislature.gov. My personal cell phone is all over the internet – LRC website or on campaign page. Call or text – just let me know who you are."

Joni Tschetter (House): "Email or call to share feedback. Invite me to your neighborhood organization. Invite me to one of your volunteer organizations so I can learn. I don’t have an exact answer for everything, but help me learn. Invite me to a group or neighborhood watch."

Kadyn Wittman (House): "I think you can ask any of my constituents – I am very responsive on social media. Emailing me works really well, although outside of session I usually only check it once a week.

  • "I will say that I’m deep in door-knocking season. I just ticked over 800 doors. A lot of folks tell me at the door what their concerns are. Even if I have no power to fix it, I will try to find you somebody that can give the answer."

Andre Zachariahs (House): "I will be out door-knocking as much as I possibly can between now and November. My phone number is available on my website. I want people to reach out – website, Facebook page – because ultimately I’m looking for a seat to represent a community.

  • I’m not representing a subset of the community. I’m representing District 15 as a whole. I will continue to be available throughout the campaign and after as well."

See more from District 15 candidates here:

Meet the Dist. 15 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 15 one of few districts in the Sioux Falls area in which every single seat is hotly contested by both parties.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

District 16

Lisa Bogue: Could not be reached for comment.

Tim Rhead:  "Obviously,you can email. You will be able to go to cracker barrels and things like that. District 16 is a large district, so it’s hard to be everywhere all the time."

  • Rhead also noted that he'd like to see more people actually know who their elected state representatives are. (Editor's note: If only there were some kind of a local news resource or something???)

John Shubeck: "During the session last year, I responded to every single email. The best thing to do is put where you’re from. Sometimes you get these mass email systems. If they put, 'here’s my phone number,' Itry to call them too. I like to talk rather than play email tag. They can find my phone number on my website and call or text me. I also love to meet people face to face."

See more from District 16 candidates:

Meet the Dist. 16 folks who want to represent you in Pierre
District 16's lone senate seat has already been decided, as Kevin D. Jensen will return to Pierre running unopposed. That leaves three people vying for two open seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

What happens next?

Election Day is Nov. 3.