Leslie Gerrish

Leslie Gerrish is a Democratic candidate for the South Dakota House of Representatives, District 17, in the November 3, 2026 general election; the Democratic primary was canceled.[1][2] She is a small business owner in Vermillion who says she has worked in corporate and nonprofit events for more than 20 years, and she names public education as her top priority.[1][3]

Leslie Gerrish earned a bachelor's degree from Purdue University in 2003 and a graduate degree from Indiana University in 2012.[1] In a 2026 Ballotpedia survey, she described her degree as a master's in Public Affairs and said she has lived in Vermillion with her husband for over a decade.[3] She said she is a small business owner and president of the board of the United Way of Vermillion, and has planned events for audiences ranging from 10 to 5,000 people.[3]

In the survey, Gerrish said she is running to focus on productive legislation, with public education as her top priority, including funding public schools appropriately, keeping public dollars in public schools and raising teacher pay.[3] She said she favors a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers in the state, supports local control and wants to give counties more budget options, and named access to healthcare and elder care among her other priorities.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.