PIERRE - A few minutes before the end of this year's legislative session, Republican and Democratic members of the state Senate noted that for the most part, they had cooperated and avoided partisan bickering. They also took time to honor some senators who are not seeking re-election.

But Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls reminded his colleagues that because of term limits and some lawmakers' decisions not to run, 13 Democrats and 12 Republicans are running for re-election in the Senate.

"And I don't mind those odds," Heidepriem joked.

His remarks were a reminder that despite the collegial atmosphere at the end of the session, the two parties will spend the rest of the year battling for control of the Legislature.

Democrats believe they have a good chance to win the Senate for the first time in 15 years, and they hope to make gains in the House. Republicans hope to continue their domination of the Legislature in a state where the GOP has a big advantage in registered voters.

Tuesday was the filing deadline for nominating petitions, but the final lineup of candidates probably will not be known until Thursday because candidates could still mail in their petitions if they sent them by registered mail posted by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

In most years, Democrats start at a disadvantage because they fail to field candidates for many legislative seats, while the GOP runs candidates for nearly all 105 House and Senate seats. Democrats this year expect to have candidates for 95 or more seats.

"I think there is a realistic chance of taking control of the state Senate and picking up a lot more seats in the House," Rick Hauffe, executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, said Tuesday.

Max Wetz, Hauffe's Republican Party counterpart, said Republicans will likely have candidates for 104 seats. That's because one candidate had technical problems with signatures on his nominating petition.

Republicans should be able to maintain their Senate majority, Wetz said. "Our Senate candidates are probably one of the best groups of candidates we've had."

The GOP now has a 20-15 advantage in the Senate, so Democrats would have to gain three seats to control the chamber. Republicans outnumber Democrats 50-20 in the House, so the GOP is almost certain to keep a majority there.

The last time the Democrats controlled a South Dakota legislative chamber was the two-year term after the 1992 election, when they won a 20-15 Senate edge over Republicans.

Hauffe said Democrats should win legislative races this year because Republican Gov. Mike Rounds and some GOP lawmakers have failed to support adequate funding for school districts and have opposed measures to create a more open state government.

The governor has been misguided on education funding, Hauffe said. "Basically, he's handing us the election."

But Wetz said Republicans believe they will fare well in the discussion about those issues.

"We're going to engage in all of those discussions and talk about the issues that are important to everybody," Wetz said. "Republicans have worked to make government responsible and responsive to the citizens. We look forward to talking about that to the voters."

Democrats have sought to boost state aid to schools by using some extra money from the state's reserves, including taking more earnings from some trust funds. Rounds and some Republican lawmakers have said the trust funds would be harmed if too much money is removed, and they argue that schools have used much of the extra state aid in recent years to build savings accounts instead of spending it in classrooms.

Democrats and some Republicans this year backed a bill that sought to make more state records open to the public, but Rounds said the measure went too far because it could have opened up government documents that contain private information about people. The governor also vetoed a measure that sought to post more state government financial information on the Internet.

Hauffe said people care about the open government issues.

"Why would you want to have a secret government in the state of South Dakota? It's not like you're protecting our state from al-Qaida," Hauffe said.

Democrats also will benefit from the national political climate and the presidential election, Hauffe said. "There's a real climate for change rolling across the country," he said.

Wetz said this year's legislative races will be fascinating because so many incumbents are prevented from seeking re-election due to term limits, have chosen not to seek re-election or are trying to switch chambers.