South Dakotans will have three chances in the next month to watch the four Republican candidates for governor take part in debates that will be televised statewide.
Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden, state House Speaker Jon Hansen, U.S. Rep Dusty Johnson and Gov. Larry Rhoden are vying for the GOP nomination in the June 2 primary.
Carson Walker
"Voters need to make an educated decision when they go to the ballot box, and the best way to do that is to question our candidates and have them respond," said Cara Hetland, director of journalism content at SDPB, which has produced televised forums since the 1970s.
"You can't get that just from someone's social media feed. And they need to be held accountable for their record."
Times, locations and moderators
Here are details of each event:
- 4 p.m. CT Tuesday, March 31: KELO-TV will air its debate live from its Sioux Falls studios, with anchors Dan Santella and Lauren Soulek moderating. It will also be re-aired and available on demand on the station's broadcast and streaming platforms.
- 8 p.m. CT Monday, April 13: South Dakota Public Broadcasting's forum from its Sioux Falls studios will be moderated by SDPB's Jackie Hendry and South Dakota News Watch's Alexander Rifaat. A limited number of tickets will be available for an in-person audience. SDPB will archive the forum on its YouTube channel immediately afterward.
- 7:30 p.m. CT Monday, April 27: The Dakota Scout and Forum Communications will host the final debate in front of an audience of subscribers at the Belbas Theater in the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls. It will be moderated by Dakota Scout co-founder Jonathan Ellis and Patrick Lalley, editor of Sioux Falls Live, and broadcast on Forum's TV stations, KSFL-TV in Sioux Falls and KNBN-TV in Rapid City. Forum also owns the Mitchell Republic, Pierre Capital Journal and Madison Daily Leader newspapers. The debate will be available online afterward.
SDPB will also air forums for other primary contests if more than one candidate qualifies for the ballot.
Veteran and new media players
Anna Peters, Keloland Media Group's director of news and multimedia content, said the station received a flood of viewer questions that will be asked of the candidates.
"It's one of the most important things we can do as a TV station, a news station. This gives the voters a chance to see the candidates, hear what they have to say and see how they interact because, honestly, sometimes that interaction during a debate can help decide a race," she said.
Peters said she looks forward to seeing how many people tune in live on their smartphones because that audience is growing.
While KELO-TV and SDPB have televised candidate debates for decades, this is a first for The Dakota Scout and Forum Communications in South Dakota.
Lalley and Ellis worked together at the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls with Joe Sneve, the Scout's other co-founder, who organized the event. The idea came from his time as a city beat reporter at the Argus when he live-streamed city council forums. He wanted to bring that format to the Scout, which launched in 2022.
"The fact we got all four candidates to a debate shows how the Scout has grown in its influence," Sneve said.
"I think it demonstrates the credibility of the players here," Lalley added. "Our reputations were built in the mainstream media at the Argus Leader. And one of the reasons we've been able to do what we do is because of that reputation."
Sneve said the debate builds on the Scout and Forum's working relationship.
"I don't know that we would have gotten the invitations to do something like this if we weren't also offering a broadcast arm, which is where Forum and Sioux Falls Live come in," he said. "They print our paper. We run their sports content in our printed product. They're building out a broadcast division in South Dakota, so it felt like a perfect fit."
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact CEO Carson Walker: 605-610-9366/carson.walker@sdnewswatch.org.
