On July 28, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden (R) won the state’s first-ever primary runoff to win a full term as governor. He defeated car dealer Toby Doeden (R) 72% to 28%. Rhoden became governor in 2025 after Gov. Kristi Noem (R) resigned to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security.

Rhoden’s victory makes him the first governor of South Dakota to win the primary for a full term in office after assuming office to complete a term. The last governor to ascend to the office was Walter Dale Miller (R), who became governor of South Dakota in 1993 upon the death of George Mickelson (R). Miller ran for a full term in 1994 and lost to former Gov. Bill Janklow (R) in the Republican primary 54% to 46%.

Going back to 1986, 29 governors who ascended to office upon a vacancy have run for a full term. Of these governors, 21 won a full term, 6 lost their bids, and Rhoden’s general election campaign is still in process. Nineteen of these governors were Republicans. Ten of these governors were Democrats. Of the six who lost, three lost in the general election, two lost in the primaries, and one lost at a nominating convention. No Democratic governor lost a primary for a full term in this period.

Twenty-five of the governors took office after a resignation, three did so after a death, and one did so after an impeachment. Of the twenty-five governors ascending to office after resignation, 20 won and four lost, with two each losing in a general and a primary. Only one governor who succeeded by death has won a full term in this time: Vermont Governor Howard Dean (D) in 1992. The one governor to succeed following an impeachment was Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D), who succeeded Rod Blagojevich (D). Quinn won a full-term in 2010.

South Dakota’s gubernatorial election is one of 36 gubernatorial elections being held this year. As of August 4, 2026, three outlets, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, ranked the race as Solid Republican or Safe Republican. The last Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in the state was Richard F. Kneip in 1974. This is the longest gubernatorial drought for any party in the country. If Rhoden wins in November, Republicans will have won 13 gubernatorial elections in a row, tying the state’s historical streak of 13 elections from 1900 to 1924.

To read more about South Dakota’s gubernatorial election, click here. To read more about the 2026 gubernatorial elections, click here. To read more about gubernatorial resignations in the United States, click here.