Larry Rhoden

Rhoden was born in 1959 in Sturgis, South Dakota, and was raised on the ranch he still operates. He graduated from Sunshine Bible Academy in 1977 and then attended Northwestern Vocational School; after high school he joined the South Dakota National Guard and served for six years.⁠[1][2]

From 1980 to 1991 he was a foreman at Cammack Ranch Supply; he began ranching in 1981 and also works as a custom welder. He served on the Meade 46-1 school board and led the board of directors of the area Cenex cooperative.⁠[1][2]

Rhoden was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2000 and served there from 2001 to 2009, including as House majority leader from 2005 to 2008, before being term-limited. In 2008 he defeated Dennis Levin with 65.94 percent to win the District 29 seat in the state Senate, where he served from 2009 to 2015 as majority whip throughout; he also chaired the State Affairs committees of both chambers.⁠[1][2]

He has said that in the legislature he worked with then-Representative Kristi Noem on property tax reform, led the effort to repeal the “Trucker’s Tax” and helped shape Second Amendment legislation.⁠[2]

In 2014 Rhoden ran in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and lost to Mike RoundsMike RoundsMike Rounds is an American Republican politician who has served as a U.S. senator from South Dakota since 2015 and was governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011; in November 2026 he won a third Senate term.Open the full entry, 18.2 percent to 55.5 percent.⁠[1]

In 2016 Rhoden won a District 29 seat in the state House with 59.81 percent and served from 2017 to 2019. In 2017 the American Conservative Union gave him its highest rating.⁠[1][2]

In 2018 Rhoden was elected lieutenant governor of South Dakota as Kristi Noem’s running mate (the ticket won 51.0 percent), taking office in 2019; in 2022 he defeated Steven Haugaard at the Republican convention for the lieutenant governor nomination and was re-elected with Noem with 62.0 percent.⁠[1]

From May to September 2020 he was also interim secretary of the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, and he served as the state’s agriculture ambassador from 2020 to 2025; he is a past president of State Ag and Rural Leaders.⁠[2]

In January 2025 Kristi Noem resigned as governor after the U.S. Senate confirmed her as secretary of homeland security in the second Donald Trump administration. Rhoden automatically succeeded her on January 25, 2025, becoming the 34th governor of South Dakota and serving the last two years of her second term.⁠[1][3][2]

As governor he worked with lawmakers on several major bills, including using sales tax revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes, banning the use of eminent domain to acquire land for carbon capture pipelines, and funding a $650 million replacement of the oldest parts of the state’s 145-year-old penitentiary. At his campaign launch in November 2025 he said, “Good policy makes good politics.”⁠[3]

In the four-way June 2 Republican primary for governor, Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden received 30.6 percent and Rhoden 25.2 percent, with U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson at 23.4 percent and state House Speaker Jon Hansen at 20.8 percent. Because no candidate reached 35 percent, South Dakota held a runoff under a 1985 law for the first time.⁠[4][3]

During the campaign Rhoden argued that Doeden’s proposal to eliminate local property taxes would require replacement funding and create a $1.8 billion hole in the state budget. In the July 28 runoff Rhoden defeated Doeden 70.8 percent to 29.2 percent, carrying 64 of 66 counties; the Associated Press called the race at 8:08 p.m. Central, and Doeden conceded and pledged to support him in the general election.⁠[3][4]

In the November 3 gubernatorial election Rhoden and his running mate, Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen, defeated Democrat Dan AhlersDan AhlersDan Ahlers is a South Dakota Democratic politician and Dell Rapids small-business owner who served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and state Senate. He was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2020 and for governor of South Dakota in 2026.Open the full entry and his running mate, Steven McCleerey. The Associated Press projected Rhoden as the winner.⁠[4][5]

South Dakota Governor’s Office: Official website: https://governor.sd.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[6]

X: Public account: https://x.com/GovLarryRhoden (opens in a new window).⁠[6]