Single-race election today between Gov. Larry Rhoden and Toby Doeden is result of no candidate getting 35% in June 2 GOP primary.
Gov. Larry Rhoden and Toby Doeden meet for the last time today as they aim to capture the votes of Republicans in South Dakota. Who emerges victorious will depend on whether voters choose to support someone with 25 years of experience in Pierre or the self-proclaimed "outsider."
The election is South Dakota's first gubernatorial runoff in state history. That comes after a 1985 law was passed stating that if no candidate reaches 35% of the vote in a primary election, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff.
The June 2 primary election concluded more than a year of campaigning among a competitive field of four candidates – one of the most crowded Republican gubernatorial elections in recent memory.
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Doeden received 31% of the primary vote on June 2 and Rhoden received 25%. The rest of the votes went to Congressman Dusty Johnson at 23% and Speaker of the South Dakota House Jon Hansen at 21%, both of whom failed to clear the runoff threshold.
Rhoden, who has served as governor since former Gov. Kristi Noem stepped down last January, has largely hinged his campaign around his experience in the state Legislature and executive branch. He hopes to be formally elected to the office after serving as Noem's lieutenant governor since 2018. Rhoden is a rancher from Union Center.
Doeden, a businessman from Aberdeen, has long decried the political establishment as corrupt. He has largely self-funded his campaign, donating $4 million to himself in the past year. Much of his campaign has centered around his promise to eliminate property taxes and curb government spending.
The winner may largely be decided by how voters who previously supported Hansen and Johnson swing, as well as the choice of the large volume of newly registered Republicans. More than 2,000 new voters have registered as Republicans since the June primary.
The winning candidate will face Democrat Dan Ahlers in the November general election.
Molly Wetsch
Polling places open at 7 a.m. local time and closes at 7 p.m. Only Republicans can vote in this closed election, and you can find your polling place here.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, subscribe for free and donate at sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter/Report for America corps member Molly Wetsch: 605-531-7382/molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
