Toby Doeden
Toby Doeden (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of South Dakota. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.[source]
As of 2026, Doeden was a car dealership and rental property owner.[1]
Biography
Doeden graduated from Groton High School in 1993. As of 2026, he was a car dealership and rental property owner.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the June 2, 2026, Republican primary election as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Incumbent Larry Rhoden, Toby Doeden, Jon Hansen, and Dusty Johnson are running in the Republican primary for governor of South Dakota on June 2, 2026. If no candidate wins 35% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a July 28, 2026, runoff election.
Rhoden was formerly lieutenant governor and replaced former Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on January 25, 2025, when Noem became the secretary of homeland security under Donald Trump (R).[2] South Dakota Searchlight's editor-in-chief Seth Tupper said: "[P]eople are viewing this as an open seat. Kristi Noem resigned, and yes, the Lieutenant Governor came in and you could call him an incumbent, sort of, not really, but kind of. ... And I think a lot of people underestimated Governor Rhoden's ability to campaign for this seat. ... [B]ut I don't think it caused anybody to say, oh, I'm not going to run now, because open seats don't come along very often, obviously, in South Dakota Republican politics."[3]
Rhoden is the governor of South Dakota. He says, "I want to keep South Dakota strong – strong families, strong businesses, and strong institutions. I want to keep South Dakota safe – with low crime and respect for law enforcement. And I want to keep South Dakota free – freedom will continue to be our calling card as long as I am governor."[4]
Doeden is a car dealership and rental property owner.[5] He says, "As governor, I will stop the reckless spending and fight back against crushing property taxes so everyone can own a home, and work with President Trump to round up illegal immigrants and get deadly drugs off our streets."[6]
Hansen is the speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives and a lawyer.[5] He says, "As Governor, [I] will lower your property taxes, root out corruption, stop wasteful government spending, preserve the South Dakota way of life, and keep South Dakota free, safe, and sane."[7]
Johnson represents South Dakota's At-Large Congressional District. He says, "It’s time for a new chapter—a chapter that drives South Dakota to a brighter future where we build better schools and safer communities, a chapter that governs with conservative principles to create new jobs, new businesses, and new opportunities in every community, and a chapter where being a workhorse, not a show horse, still means something."[8]
Property taxes are a major campaign issue setting the candidates apart. Both Rhoden and Johnson, who present as moderate Republicans according to University of South Dakota professor Julia Hellwege, propose reforms to the system.[5] Rhoden suggested and signed a bill that allows counties to decide on replacing property taxes with a half-cent sales tax increase.[9][10] Johnson's proposal would exempt first-time homebuyers from paying property taxes for two years and provide a $400 property tax credit to owner-occupied properties via a planned increase in the statewide sales tax.[9] Hansen, who belongs to the populist branch of the Republican Party, also proposed a property tax relief bill for owner-occupied single-family dwellings via the increased statewide sales tax; the bill was passed into law on March 12, 2026.[11][12][13][14] Doeden wants to immediately eliminate property taxes.[9] According to Hellwege, Doeden is running a populist campaign and describes himself as a political outsider, which could possibly shift the other candidates rightward on this and other issues.[5][15]
In South Dakota, the gubernatorial nominee is selected in the primary. The gubernatorial nominee then chooses a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate, and they run together on a single ticket in the general election.
Elections
2026
See also: South Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
South Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
South Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Governor of South Dakota
Terry Gleason is running in the general election for Governor of South Dakota on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Terry Gleason (Independent) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Allison Renville (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of South Dakota
Dan Ahlers and Robert Arnold are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of South Dakota on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Dan Ahlers | |
 | Robert Arnold | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of South Dakota
Incumbent Larry Rhoden, Toby Doeden, Jon Hansen, and Dusty Johnson are running in the Republican primary for Governor of South Dakota on June 2, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[16] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[17] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.
| Poll | Dates | Doeden | Hansen | Johnson | Rhoden | Undecided | Sample size | Margin of error | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | 18 | 14 | 28 | 17 | 23 | 413 LV | ± 4.8% | Nexstar | |
– | 16 | 10 | 33 | 28 | 12 | 400 LV | ± 4.9% | Larry Rhoden's campaign | |
– | 15 | 10 | 28 | 27 | 21 | 502 RV | ± 4.5% | Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota and South Dakota News Watch | |
Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy NoteAttorney General Marty Jackley (R) received 18%. | – | 4 | 2 | 28 | 27 | 20 | 500 RV | ± 4.5% | Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota and South Dakota News Watch |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | |||||||||
Candidate spending
This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the South Dakota Secretary of State in this election. It does not include information on spending by satellite groups. Click here to access the reports.
Endorsements
Doeden received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- State Sen. Taffy Howard (R)
- State Rep. Bobbi Andera (R)
- State Rep. Phil Jensen (R)
- State Rep. Logan Manhart (R)
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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Campaign website
Doeden's campaign website stated the following:
Stand with President Trump
President Donald J. Trump was elected in a landslide victory. He deserves a strong ally in South Dakota. Toby Doeden is one of President Trump’s fiercest supporters, and he will help implement the President’s America First agenda.
Reduce Property Taxes
Property taxes have gotten completely out of control. Toby Doeden will fight to reduce and ultimately eliminate your property taxes, so that you can raise your family, operate your farm or ranch, and grow your business free from crushing property taxes.
Cut Wasteful Spending
Career politicians and corrupt bureaucrats have bankrupted our nation and skyrocketed our state’s spending. Toby Doeden will work to meticulously cut all wasteful and reckless spending throughout South Dakota.
Defend the Unborn
South Dakota is an unapologetically pro-life state, and Toby Doeden will keep it that way. As a father of four, Toby Doeden will stand up for the unborn and defend South Dakota families.
Prevent Indoctrination in Schools
Our schools should teach reading, writing, math, and critical thinking — NOT radical ideologies like Gender Theory and Critical Race Theory. Under the Doeden Administration, there will be zero indoctrination in South Dakota schools.
Deport Illegal Immigrants
Illegal aliens from all over the world have infiltrated our nation. In South Dakota, we won’t put up with it. Toby Doeden will work with ICE to accelerate the arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants throughout our state.
Protect Landowner Rights
Toby Doeden believes the government should stay out of our lives as much as possible. Recent attempts to seize citizens’ land and give it to out-of-state companies are unconstitutional and flat-out wrong. Under Toby Doeden’s watch, that won’t be happening in South Dakota.
Uphold the Constitution
The United States Constitution is the greatest guarantor of freedom in the history of the world. Toby Doeden will stand up for your First Amendment right to free speech, your Second Amendment right to bear arms, and every single one of your God-given rights defined in the Constitution.
End Government Corruption
South Dakota has the most government corruption per capita out of all 50 states. This is unacceptable. Toby Doeden will bring accountability to state workers, transparency to our budgets, and consequences to those who engage in corruption.
Support Rural Communities
Rural communities are the backbone of South Dakota. While other states are neglecting and abandoning their rural citizens, Toby Doeden will ensure that rural South Dakota has the support & representation it deserves.
Eliminate Wokeness & DEI
The radical left has lost its mind. When Toby Doeden becomes Governor of South Dakota, he’ll put an end to all wokeness & DEI in our state. Critical race theory will have no place in our classrooms, “DEI” will be eliminated from all government programs, and common sense will be restored.
Prioritize Public Safety
By supporting our brave law enforcement officers, deporting dangerous illegal aliens, and upholding law and order, Toby Doeden will restore public safety in South Dakota.
— Toby Doeden's campaign website (March 8, 2026)
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dakota News Now, "Toby Doeden makes the political establishment nervous. So what’s his next move?" April 19, 2025
- ↑ Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary of Homeland Security," accessed March 1, 2025
- ↑ SDPB Radio, "Analysis: Early 2026 gubernatorial announcements sees similar candidates," June 12, 2025
- ↑ Larry Rhoden 2026 campaign website, "Home," accessed March 2, 2026
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 South Dakota News Watch, "Governor poll: Rhoden, Johnson lead but Doeden, Hansen surge," October 27, 2025
- ↑ YouTube, "A Governor For The People | Toby Doeden for South Dakota," May 29, 2025
- ↑ Hansen 2026 campaign website, "Home," accessed March 2, 2026
- ↑ Dakota News Now, "Rep. Dusty Johnson announces bid for South Dakota Governor," June 30, 2025
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 South Dakota News Watch, "Assessing SD gubernatorial candidates' property tax proposals," February 9, 2026
- ↑ South Dakota Legislature Legislative Research Council, "Senate Bill 96," accessed March 22, 2026
- ↑ The Dakota Scout, "Can populist GOP overcome South Dakota history?" April 25, 2025
- ↑ Sioux Falls Live, "South Dakota House Speaker will seek GOP nomination for governor," April 17, 2025
- ↑ KELOLAND, "Hansen wants to use sales tax for property-tax relief," March 2, 2026
- ↑ South Dakota Legislature Legislative Research Council, "Senate Bill 245," accessed March 22, 2026
- ↑ Dakota News Now, "Gubernatorial race to take center stage in the new year," January 2, 2026
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
