PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Spend big, win big.

That formula helped Will Mortenson of Pierre and Mike Weisgram of Fort Pierre take the Republican nominations Tuesday night and advance to the November general election ballot.

Mortenson and Weisgram were two of the five Republican candidates seeking the two District 24 seats in the state House of Representatives.

The others were Senator Jeff Monroe of Pierre, who was term-limited in the Senate; Noel Chicoine of Pierre; and Bob Lowery of Pierre.

The final unofficial tallies were Mortenson 2,824; Weisgram 2,549; Monroe 1,516; Chicoine 1,158; and Lowery 633.

Mortenson, a lawyer and former legislative lobbyist who comes from a well-known family of ranchers and lawyers, raised $62,227. That was in the neighborhood of the four other Republicans combined: Lowery raised $2,925; Monroe $4,885; Chicoine $5,620.70; and Weisgram $22,247.68.

At several highly visible spots — on either side of a polling place and at Pierre’s main downtown intersection — Mortenson had teams of young supporters during the lunch hour Tuesday encouraging passing motorists to vote.

A South Dakota legislator receives a salary of $11,379 this year, plus $149 for expenses each day that a lawmaker spends on official state business.

The two nominees will face Democrat Amanda Bachmann of Pierre in the November general election.

The current two House members, Republicans Mary Duvall and Tim Rounds, also were term-limited. Duvall, finishing her fourth term in the House, ran for the Senate seat and has no opposition. Rounds didn’t seek another office after two separate eight-year stints in the House.

In 2018, Monroe won re-election to the Senate by defeating Bachmann 6,989-3,519.

Review Primary Election results on the Your Local Election Headquarters page.