South Dakota governors race remains up in the air as GOP contest goes to runoff

South Dakota Republican businessman Toby Doeden will move on to a July runoff in the GOP gubernatorial sweeps, while the race for the second contender remained too close to call overnight Wednesday.

The news is a blow to incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden, who still has a shot to face off in the runoff depending on whether he, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., or South Dakota House Speaker Jon Hansen make it through.

Rhoden, the longtime lieutenant governor under former Gov. Kristi Noem, is a rancher who rose through the ranks of state legislative leadership before succeeding the former Homeland Security secretary.

Often seen with his trademark cowboy hat, the western South Dakota native spent 16 years in the state legislature and has focused on continuing Noem’s platform of making South Dakota one of the nation’s most affordable and business-friendly states.

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Rhoden opposes abortion, supports Second Amendment rights and has worked with his former boss on homeland security matters, including cooperating with ICE on immigration enforcement operations.

President Donald Trump was conspicuously mute in the crowded primary, an observation South Dakota News Watch recently questioned Rhoden about.

“I don’t spend a lot of time fretting about it,” the governor said.

“If you look at who he’s endorsed, he likes endorsing winners and seldom goes out on a limb. And here we have a four-way primary with a seated House member in the race,” Rhoden said, adding that Trump appears to like making safe bets.

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Rhoden, along with Doeden and Hansen, faced a challenge from Rep. Dusty Johnson, the state’s lone congressman, whose statewide profile was considered stronger than that of the other candidates in the race.

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Doeden ran as a political outsider and positioned himself as a populist candidate.

Largely self-funded, Doeden positioned himself as a conservative alternative to the Pierre establishment.

Hansen, meanwhile, is the establishment conservative challenger who has served in the State House for more than a decade.