TenHaken, Loetscher advance in Sioux Falls mayoral election

Paul TenHaken or Jolene Loetscher will be Sioux Falls' next mayor.

From the moment results started coming in from downtown Sioux Falls Tuesday night, the two candidates quickly pulled away from the four others in the race for a shot to lead the city over the next four years.

TenHaken led the pack with 34 percent of the vote, and Loetscher nabbed another 25 percent.

More: Sioux Falls election: Live updates and results

"Political experience, while important, is not the number one factor when people are looking to choose the next leader of their city," said TenHaken, a 40-year-old entrepreneur who founded Sioux Falls digital marketing company Click Rain. "They're looking for a leader ... and that's the first job of the mayor."

Like TenHaken, Loetscher comes from the business world with little prior involvement in politics. At 39, she owns a pair of Sioux Falls businesses, is an activist and retired broadcast journalist.

She said the results of Tuesday's election show a thirst for a more progressive city government, but to get there, it will take another three weeks of getting her message out to voters.

"This is not the end," Loetscher said. "We still have a lot of work left to do, and we're going to be asking for all of you to help us in that."

During her post-election speech, Loetscher also noted that she was outspent by all but two candidates and that on the campaign trail she took advantage of opportunities and overcame challenges.

Trailing TenHaken and Loetscher's decisive lead were three former city councilors: Jim Entenman with 19 percent, Greg Jamison with 14 percent and Kenny Anderson, Jr. with 6 percent. Mike Gunn finished with 1 percent of the vote.

A runoff election to determine Sioux Falls' next mayor will be held May 1.

Both TenHaken and Loetscher's campaigns excelled partly because of a base of young voters turning out. While official turnout demographics aren't available, precinct workers across the city anecdotally said they saw more young people at the polls than in years past.

TenHaken said he would have had a strong showing even without the younger crowd's support, but he knew it would help boost him to the top.

"I definitely wasn't counting on it, but it was definitely an ace in the hole," he said.

Surrounded by supporters, most of which were people her age or younger, Loetscher called the Sioux Falls the city of opportunity, pointing to her rise from a TV reporter to potentially being the next mayor.

"(Sioux Falls) represents for me my hopes, my dreams, my stumbles and of course my new starts as well," Loetscher said.