Larry Rhoden Wins South Dakota GOP Gubernatorial Runoff

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden won a decisive victory in the state's first-ever gubernatorial primary runoff on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, securing the Republican nomination for a full term. He defeated businessman and political newcomer Toby Doeden by a wide margin, with Rhoden receiving 72.1 percent of the vote to Doeden's 27.9 percent, according to results with 77 percent of the vote counted.

The runoff was triggered after a four-way Republican primary on June 2 failed to produce a candidate who received at least 35 percent of the vote. In that initial contest, Doeden finished first with 30.6 percent, while Governor Rhoden placed second with 25.2 percent. The other candidates, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson and state House Speaker Jon Hansen, did not advance.

Rhoden, who became governor in January 2025 after being elevated from lieutenant governor when former Governor Kristi Noem joined the Trump administration, framed the race as a choice between experience and outsider disruption. He campaigned on his long record in public office, which began in 2001, and argued he had a proven ability to unite different factions of the Republican Party. His platform included cutting...