South Dakota Searchlight
Republican voters will select their nominee for governor today in South Dakota’s first statewide runoff election.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The runoff is the only item on the ballot, and because the state Republican Party does not open its primaries to non-Republican voters, only registered Republicans are allowed to vote. The registration deadline was July 13.
Gov. Larry Rhoden and Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden are the last Republican candidates standing after a four-way primary on June 2. Nobody reached the legal threshold to win that election — the first time that’s happened since lawmakers approved a state law in 1985 requiring a top-two runoff when nobody reaches 35% in primaries for governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Previously when no candidate received 35%, delegates at state political party conventions chose the nominee.
Today’s winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election to face the Democratic nominee for governor, former legislator Dan Ahlers.
Republican turnout for the primary election was 43%. Advance voting for the runoff has been underway since June 12 and was continuing Monday, with 24,502 ballots received by Monday morning. That’s about the same pace as the primary, when 26,125 Republicans voted early. There are nearly 330,000 registered Republican voters in the state.
The scramble for the Republican nomination started in January 2025 when then-Gov. Kristi Noem resigned to accept a job in President Donald Trump’s administration. Rhoden was Noem’s lieutenant governor and was automatically promoted to serve the last two years of her second term.
State House Speaker Jon Hansen became the first Republican to announce a candidacy for governor on April 24, 2025. Doeden, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and Rhoden entered the race in the ensuing months.
Johnson was the presumptive frontrunner and led in several early polls. He had the most campaign money at his disposal and the highest statewide profile due to his four terms in the U.S. House.
But on primary election night, Doeden surprised the political establishment by finishing first at 31%, followed by Rhoden at 25%, Johnson at 23% and Hansen at 21%.