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Spencer Gosch

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Spencer Gosch
Image of Spencer Gosch

Republican Party

South Dakota House of Representatives District 23
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Prior offices
South Dakota House of Representatives District 23

Compensation

Base salary

$13,436/year

Per diem

$166/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the capitol

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Spencer Gosch (Republican Party) is a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 23. He assumed office on January 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Gosch (Republican Party) ran for election to the South Dakota House of Representatives to represent District 23. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.


Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Gosch's professional experience includes working as a small business owner and working on his family farm. He attended the University of South Dakota.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Gosch was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Gosch was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Spencer Gosch and incumbent Scott Moore won election in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch (R)
 
51.8
 
7,973
✔
Image of Scott Moore
Scott Moore (R)
 
48.2
 
7,420

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 15,393
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Incumbent Scott Moore and Spencer Gosch defeated incumbent James Wangsness in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Scott Moore
Scott Moore
 
41.8
 
2,889
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch
 
37.5
 
2,589
Image of James Wangsness
James Wangsness
 
20.7
 
1,427

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,905
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gosch in this election.

2022

See also: South Dakota State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for South Dakota State Senate District 23

Incumbent Bryan Breitling won election in the general election for South Dakota State Senate District 23 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bryan Breitling
Bryan Breitling (R)
 
100.0
 
7,954

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,954
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 23

Incumbent Bryan Breitling defeated Spencer Gosch in the Republican primary for South Dakota State Senate District 23 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bryan Breitling
Bryan Breitling
 
54.2
 
3,019
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch
 
45.8
 
2,552

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,571
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Incumbent Spencer Gosch and Charles Hoffman won election in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch (R)
 
55.1
 
8,325
✔
Image of Charles Hoffman
Charles Hoffman (R)
 
44.9
 
6,791

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 15,116
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Incumbent Spencer Gosch and Charles Hoffman defeated incumbent James Wangsness and Kevin Watts in the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch
 
40.7
 
3,107
✔
Image of Charles Hoffman
Charles Hoffman
 
35.4
 
2,709
Image of James Wangsness
James Wangsness
 
14.0
 
1,072
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kevin Watts
 
9.9
 
755

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,643
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Incumbent Spencer Gosch and incumbent John Lake defeated Eleanor Iverson and Margaret Ann Walsh in the general election for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch (R)
 
41.0
 
7,115
✔
Image of John Lake
John Lake (R)
 
37.0
 
6,435
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Eleanor Iverson (D)
 
12.1
 
2,105
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Margaret Ann Walsh (D)
 
9.9
 
1,717

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 17,372
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Eleanor Iverson and Philip Testerman advanced from the Democratic primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Eleanor Iverson
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Philip Testerman

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 (2 seats)

Incumbent Spencer Gosch and incumbent John Lake advanced from the Republican primary for South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Spencer Gosch
Spencer Gosch
✔
Image of John Lake
John Lake

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the South Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 29, 2016. Incumbents Justin Cronin (R) and Michele Harrison (R) did not seek re-election.

Spencer Gosch and John Lake were unopposed in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 general election.[2][3]

South Dakota House of Representatives, District 23 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Spencer Gosch 53.81% 7,099
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Lake 46.19% 6,094
Total Votes 13,193
Source: South Dakota Secretary of State



John Lake and Spencer Gosch defeated Charles Hoffman and incumbent Dick Werner in the South Dakota House of Representatives District 23 Republican primary.[4][5]

South Dakota House of Representatives, District 23 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Lake 31.16% 2,466
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Spencer Gosch 26.98% 2,135
     Republican Charles Hoffman 21.55% 1,705
     Republican Dick Werner Incumbent 20.31% 1,607
Total Votes 7,913

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Spencer Gosch did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Spencer Gosch did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Spencer Gosch did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Gosch's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

Agriculture:

  • Agriculture is the backbone of our economy in South Dakota. I grew up on a farm in our district and have been active in the day to day operations my entire life. I currently farm and ranch with my dad on the family farm and hope that someday it will be there for the next generation. I am a member of the South Dakota Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau. Farming and ranching isn't only my life style, but is at the fore front of every decision I make. Currently, property evaluations are increasing at an exponential rate in order to keep up with current property values. This opens up opportunities for the Government to tax property owners more than ever before. As your Representative, I will work toward curbing their desire and ability to do so. The Ag sector carries a large amount of the tax burden in this state already and in a year where profit potential is projected to be low, we as a state need to be more conservative than ever, tightening up our belts and stopping unnecessary taxation and spending.

Taking Care of our Veterans:

  • These brave men and women fought or are still fighting to protect our liberties, to provide us with comfortable lifestyles, and frankly, to ensure that we as individuals can continue to live the way that we do. Most have signed up because of their sense of patriotism and civic duty, and many of them signed up with a promise from their government that they would be taken care of. As your Representative, I will keep that promise and work hard to ensure that we take care of them. Our service men and women are the cream of our crop, the best of the best of us, and it's time that we as a nation, we as a state, and we as individuals say..."THANK YOU!"

​Business and Economic Development:

  • I believe that it is the Government's job to support local business rather than regulate or tax people out of their lively hoods. It's the Government's job to use the money generated by the people to maintain infrastructure like roads and other public utility resources. To promote local economic development and to stay out of the way of hard working individuals that just want a piece of the American Dream!

​Education:

  • When we talk about education, most people want to dive right into the specifics of our schools. I want to take a step back and look at the larger picture. In our District and in my life time, I have watched schools close or consolidate, and I have seen first hand what it does to their communities. And still today, we see many communities at risk of losing their schools. So, when we talk about economic development and what we can do to get young people to want to come back to our area, we have to keep our schools at the forefront of all thought.

Taking Care of our Finest generation:

  • Now, because of healthcare reform, our retirement homes are financially stressed to the breaking point, causing more cuts in the care industry, and even closures. With less and less of these facilities open, this will cause people to travel farther and farther to find care, and still these facilities may not have the faculty needed to run efficiently. We need to slow, if not stop this process and to once again take care of those that have taken care of us for all of these years.[6]
 ”
—Spencer Gosch[7]

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Spencer Gosch campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* South Dakota House of Representatives District 23Won general$15,975 $0
2022South Dakota State Senate District 23Lost primary$7,325 $0
2020South Dakota House of Representatives District 23Won general$13,412 N/A**
2018South Dakota House of Representatives District 23Won general$10,088 N/A**
2016South Dakota House of Representatives, District 23Won $16,214 N/A**
Grand total$63,014 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in South Dakota

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Dakota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.




2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017




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External links

Candidate

South Dakota House of Representatives District 23
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ goschforhouse.com, "Spencer Gosch for District 23 House of Representatives," accessed July 1, 2017
    2. ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed August 21, 2016
    3. ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Official Results State Canvas," accessed May 2, 2017
    4. ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed December 18, 2015
    5. ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "State primary results," accessed June 7, 2016
    6. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    7. ↑ Gosch for House, "My views," accessed May 26, 2016


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