Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight
SIOUX FALLS — A dozen Republicans who are seeking or hold elected statewide office and the mayor of South Dakota’s most populous city have endorsed the incumbent governor in South Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial runoff.
“You can’t fake ethics, and you can’t fake morals, and you can’t fake values. And there’s one guy in this race that has those, and it’s this guy right here,” Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said of Rhoden during a Monday press conference.
Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden finished first in the June 2 primary; Rhoden placed second. Neither candidate reached the 35% threshold required to win the Republican nomination outright.
Both of the remaining Republican candidates are vying for the support of the more than 60,000 people who voted for U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and state Speaker of the House of Representatives Jon Hansen in the primary.
TenHaken said he’s backing Rhoden because the governor’s decisions have benefited Sioux Falls citizens. TenHaken spoke of the addition of eight troopers and a sergeant to the South Dakota Highway Patrol’s Sioux Falls team and Rhoden’s signature on bills to expand the city’s airport and to allow cities to implement a 1% sales tax for special projects. He also pointed to Rhoden’s efforts to support a new state prison and his backing of the planned relocation of Smithfield Foods’ slaughterhouse from downtown Sioux Falls to an industrial park on the city’s western side.
“When I look at all this stuff we’ve gotten done in 18 months, it’s really quite remarkable,” TenHaken said.
The mayor told South Dakota Searchlight that his comments on Rhoden’s morality weren’t meant to question Doeden’s, but rather to say that “I know Larry really well, and I know Larry has morals, ethics and values, from my time working with him.”
“I wouldn’t gamble that if I were the voters,” he said.
TenHaken is term-limited as Sioux Falls mayor, a position that’s officially non-partisan but has been marked by partisanship during the 2026 election cycle. Voters were asked to choose TenHaken’s replacement on primary day, June 2, which led to a runoff between Christine Erickson, a former Republican state representative, and Jamie Smith, a state lawmaker and one-time Democratic nominee for governor.
Erickson won the mayoral runoff by two votes. Smith formally requested a recount in the two-vote mayoral runoff race last week.
Doeden responded to TenHaken’s comments by saying “like the majority of people supporting Larry’s campaign, Paul is a closet Democrat,” as evidenced by his not publicly supporting Erickson over Smith.
“He has never spoken to me,” Doeden said. “Doesn’t know me, my family, or anyone around me.”
The Monday event was also attended by Republican Public Utilities Commissioner candidate Don Haggar; current Commissioner Kristie Fiegen; Republican Sioux Falls lawmakers Sen. Sue Peterson, Rep. Jack Kolbeck, Rep. Keri Weems, Rep. Brian Mulder, and Rep. Tim Czmowski; former Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence; Sen. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton; Rep. Les Heinemann, R-Flandreau; House candidate Terry Sabers, R-Mitchell; Rep. Roger DeGroot, R-Brookings. Each of the Republican state officials and candidates pledged their support for Rhoden.
Jensen and Heinemann had previously supported Hansen, who placed last in the June primary election. Czmowski, DeGroot, Mulder and Weems had backed Johnson, who placed third.
Doeden has also landed some recent endorsements, including from Republican Attorney General nominee Lance Russell and the advocacy group South Dakota Canvassing, which supports hand-counting elections. Other former Hansen supporters, including Republican state Rep. Aaron Aylward of Harrisburg and former Hansen campaign spokesman Austin Goss, endorsed Doeden in the days following the primary.
The winner of the July 28 Republican gubernatorial runoff will advance to the November general election against Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers.