Rhoden wins South Dakota’s Republican runoff for governor

By Molly Wetsch 

SD News Watch

Gov. Larry Rhoden took a 71% to 29% lead early and maintained it over Toby Doeden.

Gov. Larry Rhoden handily defeated Toby Doeden Tuesday in a runoff election to decide the Republican Party’s candidate for governor.

Rhoden maintained a lead of roughly 71% to 29% over the Aberdeen businessman as results came in and that was the final outcome.

“This has been a lot more fun than other election nights,” Rhoden said to a roomful of supporters in Sioux Falls.

His speech thanking his family was interrupted by a phone call from a state lawmaker. He said he received hundreds of calls like that from supporters saying they were praying for him, which helped him get through tough times, also recalling the scripture passage to “walk by faith and not by sight.” 

Doeden vowed to eliminate property taxes and get the state on the right track, while Rhoden touted his experience as a rancher, state lawmaker and in the executive branch.

“They don’t think that South Dakota needs saving,” Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen said of the voters who supported Rhoden. “They see that South Dakota is on the right track.”

The election was South Dakota’s first runoff in state history because of a 1985 law stating that if no candidate reaches 35% of the vote in a primary election, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

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.

“I did get a call from Toby, Mr. Doeden, just a little bit ago, and he graciously conceded and congratulated me, and he sounded very sincere and offered his help in the general (election). And so I thank him for that,” Rhoden said.

Doeden spoke to his supporters in Aberdeen after the call to congratulate Rhoden and lend his support in the campaign against Democrat Dan Ahlers in the Nov. 3 general election.

“I have said since Day 1 on this long, crazy journey that my singular goal was to unite our amazing Republican Party and move this state forward. And that journey has not ended, my friends,” Doeden told family and friends.

He said that in 30 years of business he learned more from his losses than his wins.

In Sioux Falls, some voters cast ballots for the third time this year after a Republican primary and municipal election on June 2 and a subsequent mayoral runoff election on June 23. 

In the city, some polling places on Tuesday noticed a much less busy day than on other in-person voting dates, likely because the only election taking place is the Republican runoff for governor, which is closed to Independents and Democrats. Other elections this year were open to voters from all parties.

The downtown library in Sioux Falls was slower than usual, but other polling stations, especially those in regularly busier precincts, were seeing more typical numbers.

The Embrace Church polling place had seen about 170 voters in total at 11:30 a.m. One poll worker told News Watch that numbers were “on pace” with what she had expected for the day.

Marilyn, a voter at Harvest Church in southeastern Sioux Falls who didn’t want to give her last name, told News Watch she voted for Doeden because she wanted to see a change in Pierre.

“I think we need a change from (former Gov.) Kristi Noem,” she said. “We need some new blood.”

Rhoden, who has served as governor since former 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.