× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Dave Rader started in front and Joe Newhouse behind, but both wound up in the same place on Tuesday — the winning side of Republican state Senate runoffs.

Newhouse finished second in the June 28 SD 25 primary, but easily more than made up the ground to defeat Lisa Kramer of Bixby in this go-round.

And Rader, first by 15 points in the SD 39 primary, defeated longtime activist Amanda Teegarden by almost 10 points this time around.

“Tonight went pretty much the way I thought it would go and the way I hoped it would go,” Rader said.

“Our No. 1 obstacle to overcome was convincing people there was another election. … I knew it would be difficult convince people to get out and vote, and I knew Amanda’s people were going to show up. She retained 80 percent of her vote. I retained 55 percent, which was enough to win.”

In a rarity for runoff elections, Newhouse actually increased his vote total from the primary, and won by about 11 percentage points.

Turnout is generally lighter in runoff elections, and that was the case here as the overall number of ballots cast fell by 40 percent. Kramer’s Tuesday vote declined accordingly.