Republican · South Dakota governor · 2026
Larry Rhoden
Rhoden is a rancher and welder who makes furniture from family keepsakes, including wood from his mother’s childhood cabin.
Biography
Larry Rhoden makes custom branding irons and has crafted furniture from wood salvaged from his mother's childhood cabin.1 He and his wife, Sandy, have four sons, and in July 2026 he announced that their family had just welcomed its tenth grandchild.2
Rhoden grew up on the family ranch near Union Center and attended a small country school before graduating from Sunshine Bible Academy.1 He served six years in the South Dakota National Guard, where his occupational training included welding.1 His local service included the school board and leadership of the area's Cenex cooperative.3
Rhoden served 16 years in the Legislature, including as House majority leader, before becoming Kristi Noem's lieutenant governor.4 He also served as interim agriculture secretary in 2020 and agriculture ambassador until 2025.3 He succeeded Noem as governor in January 2025.4 That March, he signed legislation barring eminent domain for pipelines carrying carbon oxide, including the proposed carbon capture pipeline.51
Now seeking a full term against Democrat Dan Ahlers, Rhoden proposes continuing conservative budgeting and investment in the state's industries and workforce.41 His record includes property tax relief measures that rely partly on higher sales taxes, placing the balance between homeowner relief and other tax burdens among the choices facing voters.1
Record and controversies
Republican; Daniel P. Ahlers | Democrat
South Dakota News Watch distinguished criticism of Rhoden's private campaign air travel from Ahlers' debate comments about a state plane records lawsuit.6 Reporting found that donor provided private flights for Rhoden's campaign had been omitted from financial reports; his campaign called the omission inadvertent.6 The lawsuit Ahlers invoked involved records from Kristi Noem's administration and credit cards, rather than a suit over Rhoden's state aircraft use.6 Neither the fact check nor the reported omission is a criminal conviction.6