title: Pam Cole
text: # Pam Cole
  
  Pamela Merchant Cole (born December 18, 1967) is a graphic designer and former Democratic member of the South Dakota Senate who represented the 7th district from 2009 to 2011. She was also the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party from 2020 to 2021.
  
  ## Career
  
  Cole was elected to the 7th district state senate seat in the 2008 election, beating Republican Orville B. Smidt. She served on the Commerce Committee, the Health and Human Service Committee and the Taxation Committee. She lost her seat at the 2010 election, being beaten by Larry Tidemann.
  
  In 2016, she moved from Brookings to Sioux Falls. She was made the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party in February 2020, after the party leadership had resigned due to the party misstating its finances and finding itself in debt. In September 2020, Cole announced that the party had been "extremely frugal" in its recent spending and was once again financially stable. She resigned in February 2021 due to personal reasons.
  
  In 2022, Cole filed to run for the at-large B seat on Sioux Falls city council as incumbent Christine Erickson was term limited. She lost to Rich Merkouris, a local pastor.
  
  ## Electoral history
  
  ### 2008
  
  2008 South Dakota Senate election: District 7 Democratic primary :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Democratic | Pam Merchant | 1,128 | 52.03 |
  | | Democratic | Craig A. Tschetter | 1,040 | 47.97 |
  | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,168 | 100.0 |
  
  2008 South Dakota Senate election: District 7 general election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Democratic | Pam Merchant | 4,940 | 51.16 |
  | | Republican | Orville B. Smidt | 4,716 | 48.84 |
  | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,656 | 100.00 |
  | | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |
  
  ### 2010
  
  2010 South Dakota Senate election: District 7 general election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Republican | Larry Tidemann | 4,289 | 54.15 |
  | | Democratic | Pam Merchant | 3,631 | 45.85 |
  | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,920 | 100.00 |
  | | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |
  
  ### 2022
  
  2022 Sioux Falls City Council election: At-large district B general election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | no description | Rich Merkouris | 14,493 | 56.99 |
  | | no description | Pam Cole | 10,936 | 43.01 |
  | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 25,429 | 100.00 |
  
  ## Personal life
  
  Cole married her husband Mike in 2018 and together they have a blended family of five adult children.
  
  