# South Dakota GOP governor primary heads to runoff; businessman Doeden, Gov. Rhoden advance  
**Published:** 2026-06-03T17:47:48.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/doeden-and-rhoden-advance-to-runoff-in-republican-governor-primary-johnson-falls-to-third/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/south-dakota-gop-governor-primary-heads-to-runoff-businessman-doeden-gov-rhoden

[South Dakota businessman Toby Doeden finished first in Tuesday's Republican governor primary but fell short of the 35% threshold needed to secure the nomination outright, triggering an unprecedented runoff election with incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden on July 28.](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/doeden-and-rhoden-advance-to-runoff-in-republican-governor-primary-johnson-falls-to-third/) Doeden, a vehicle dealership owner from Aberdeen, captured 31% of the vote, while Rhoden finished second with 25%. U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, who had led in early polls, placed third with 23%, while state House Speaker Jon Hansen collected 21%.

The results mark the first time since South Dakota enacted a runoff law in 1985 that a gubernatorial primary has advanced to a second round. The state law requires a top-two runoff whenever no candidate reaches 35% in a primary with three or more candidates for governor. In previous instances when this threshold was missed, the nominee was decided by delegates at a state party convention.

Doeden portrayed the outcome as a victory for outsiders over "career politicians." "They said no outsider in South Dakota can break through three career, 20-year politicians," Doeden said at his election night watch party. "Well, guess what? You and I, we are doing it." Doeden, who has loaned his campaign at least $4 million of his own money, campaigned on a platform to phase out property taxes and reduce state spending.

Rhoden, who became governor in January 2025 after former Gov. Kristi Noem resigned to serve as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, built his campaign around his legislative record. During the 2026 legislative session, Rhoden signed bills that reduced homeowner property taxes while raising sales taxes, funded a $650 million replacement prison in Sioux Falls, and banned the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. "We are going to hit the ground running next week," Rhoden said of the upcoming runoff.

Johnson's third-place finish means he will be out of work in January when his U.S. House term ends. He opted to run for governor rather than seek another House term. Opponents had criticized Johnson for votes they said showed insufficient support for President Donald Trump, including his 2019 opposition to Trump's emergency declaration for border wall funding and his 2020 support for investigating Capitol rioters.

The eventual Republican nominee will be heavily favored in November's general election against Democrat Dan Ahlers in the solidly red state, where Trump won by 29 points in 2024 and Democrats have not won a gubernatorial election since the 1970s.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/doeden-and-rhoden-advance-to-runoff-in-republican-governor-primary-johnson-falls-to-third/)
- [South Dakota Searchlight reporting on the primary outcomes](https://southdakotasearchlight.com/)
- [Information about South Dakota gubernatorial runoff law and requirements](https://ballotpedia.org/South_Dakota_gubernatorial_election,_2026_(June_2_Republican_primary))

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/doeden-and-rhoden-advance-to-runoff-in-republican-governor-primary-johnson-falls-to-third/.