District 32 has hosted the Stan and Elli show before, but it's never such a nail-biter.

Republican Stan Adelstein narrowly defeated nemesis independent Elli Schwiesow by 151 votes, with Democrat incumbent Tom Katus placing a close third.

With 35 percent of the vote, Adelstein edged Schiesow's 3,682 votes, or 34 percent. Katus closely trailed his opponents with 3,462 votes, or 32 percent of total voters.

Turnout in the district topped 70 percent, with 10,977 voters casting ballots. According to county officials, there are 15,568 registered voters in the district.

Adelstein said he was "startled" by the narrow margin, but is pleased with the victory, which he credited women voters and the support of Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican.

With a new Senate leadership and the departure of some "radical" old foes, Adelstein says he's looking forward to pushing forward with his ideas. He said the vote provide clear support for his moderate ideology.

"It's not a matter of right or left or extremists on either side," he said.

While the race has been flagged by the Secretary of State's office for a possible recall, Schwiesow, a registered Republican, says she's "at peace" with the results and she hasn't yet decided yet whether she'll press for a review of the vote.

"Right now I haven't even thought that far ahead," she said. "You've got to let everything settle."

Tom Katus said he visited Adelstein personally to congratulate him and urged him to reach out to all the voters in the district, include Schwiesow's supporters.

"He didn't appreciate that, he said they didn't respond to him," Katus said. "It's part of what still wrong with this part of South Dakota, we're still too polarized, we're still one-party."

The close fight is latest story in a Republican rivalry stretching back through two previous elections. In 2004, Adelstein slipped past Schwiesow in the Republican primary and won the general election. In a 2006 primary rematch, Schwiesow barely beat Adelstein.

After the loss, Adelstein considered switching parties but instead endorsed Democrat candidate Tom Katus and contributed to his campaign. In another move that rankled some Republicans, Adelstein encouraged his supporters to vote for Katus in the general election.

The move likely proved crucial to Katus' 479-vote victory margin over Schwiesow in the overwhelmingly Republican district.

District 32 includes 49 percent registered Republicans and 33 percent Democrats. Voters registered independent or aligned with other parties made up the remainder. The number of Republicans in the district slipped 6 percent from two years ago, while the number of Democrats and independents climbed.

District 32 includes portions of west Rapid City east of Sheridan Lake Road, the Robbinsdale neighborhood, Skyline Drive and the West Boulevard area.

Title: 2008 Election Wrap Date: November 5th, 2008 The 2008 election proved to be a historic event. Here's a wrap up of key races in the U.S., the state and western South Dakota. VIEW PRESENTATION »