PIERRE, S.D. – Republican governor hopeful U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson heads into the final two weeks of the June 2 primary campaign with a substantial war chest compared to his rivals.
His pre-primary campaign finance disclosure form, which all candidates had to submit by May 18, indicates that Johnson, who started the year with roughly $955,000 available in funds, received $3.7 million in contributions through mid-May and spent nearly the same amount, leaving him with a current balance of $931,000.
That figure dwarfs the balances of his opponents, with Gov. Larry Rhoden's campaign reporting $170,000 cash on hand, state House Speaker Jon Hansen's camp reporting $164,000 and Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden reporting $214,000.
Here are filings for other races.
The vast majority of the money Johnson's gubernatorial campaign received came in the form of a $3 million transfer from his congressional political action committee, Friends of Dusty Johnson. While federal law prohibits candidates for federal offices from transferring funds from a state campaign to a federal one, there is no such law that outlaws the practice of transferring funds the other way.
Johnson has used those funds to go on a media blitz in the past few weeks as the race to secure the GOP nomination for governor kicked into high gear. According to his filing, Johnson has spent roughly $3.4 million on advertisements alone.
In addition to having more cash on hand, Johnson has also been boosted by the spending of political action committees that, while not explicitly supporting his campaign, have voiced their opposition to his rivals.
Alexander Rifaat
A filing by the state political action committee Rushmore Principles showed the group spent more than $1.2 million on television ads and mail attacking Rhoden. Interestingly, and perhaps due to his steady rise in the polls, the group reported spending $50,000 on direct mail targeting Hansen.
The ads have mainly focused on recent bills passed by Hansen and signed into law by Rhoden which, in some form, raise sales taxes in exchange for lowering property taxes. Johnson claims the slew of legislation amounts to the largest sales tax increase in state history.
Doeden digs back into his pockets
Meanwhile, Doeden has backed up his promise to largely self-fund his campaign by loaning it another $2 million.
Doeden gave his campaign $2 million in 2025 and spent nearly all of it by year's end, starting this year with $41,000 on hand. According to his latest filing, Doeden has received approximately $10,000 in contributions this year.
Of the $2 million he lent his campaign in 2026, roughly $1.4 million has gone to advertisements, while he has also spent $210,000 on salaries for campaign staff, by far the highest of any of the four candidates.
Loans made by a candidate to his own campaign are not tax deductible.
Key takeaways
Michael Card, professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Dakota, said Johnson's financial strength highlights the growing importance of out-of-state money.
"I think it’s ironic because most South Dakota politicians will say they hate out-of-state money, but here we are," Card told News Watch.
While a large portion of donations to Johnson's federal campaign fund were from South Dakota, he still did receive numerous donations from other states, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. In addition, the mailing address for the treasurer of the Johnson-friendly Rushmore Principles is listed in Alabama, not South Dakota.
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Card said that while Doeden has been able to spend a lot of money, the small number of contributors could be a bad sign for him in terms of gauging his level of support.
"He had only 20 individual itemized contributions. That's really small," Card said. Candidates are required to itemize any contribution over $100.
Of the $10,000 in itemized contributions Doeden listed on his campaign form, $4,000 came from an individual based in Oklahoma.
Card said the strong number of unitemized contributions for the other three candidates could spell trouble for Doeden.
"I think the amount of small-dollar donors makes it more likely that those people will turn out to vote. That works against Doeden because he doesn't have many contributors," Card said.
Doeden recorded $806 in unitemized contributions, while Johnson raised $10,000, and both Rhoden and Hansen recorded $18,000 in such donations.
Card said Hansen might be the one best placed to challenge Johnson if the numerous small-dollar donations listed on his campaign finance form translate into votes in two weeks.
"Hansen has a grassroots campaign. No doubt about it. He has pages and pages of people," Card said.
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South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
