Rhoden defeats crypto-backed rival to secure South Dakota governor nomination
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
South Dakota's Republican Governor Larry Rhoden has won the state's first-ever gubernatorial primary runoff, defeating businessman and cryptocurrency advocate Toby Doeden to secure the party's nomination. The runoff was triggered because neither candidate cleared the 35% threshold required to win the primary outright, a historic first for South Dakota's electoral process. Rhoden's win settles the Republican contest ahead of the November general election, in which he will seek a full term after taking over the governorship.
Doeden ran as a political outsider, building his campaign heavily around cryptocurrency advocacy and positioning himself against the establishment incumbent, but could not overturn Rhoden's lead in the runoff vote. Rhoden will now face Democrat Dan Ahlers, a former state senator, in November. Given South Dakota's long-standing pattern of electing Republicans to statewide office, Rhoden enters the general election as the clear favourite.
- Rhoden wins South Dakota's first-ever GOP gubernatorial runoff
- Beat crypto-focused outsider candidate Toby Doeden
- Faces Democrat Dan Ahlers in November as favourite
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South Dakota's Republican governor, Larry Rhoden, took over the role in 2025 after Kristi Noem left to join Donald Trump's administration as Homeland Security Secretary. Rhoden then had to defend his position in this year's primary election, where he faced a challenge from Toby Doeden, a businessman who built his campaign around promoting cryptocurrency and positioning himself as an outsider opposed to the political establishment. Because neither man won enough votes outright, the contest went to a runoff, something that had never happened in a South Dakota governor's race before.
The result matters because South Dakota is a heavily Republican state, so winning the party's nomination is generally seen as the biggest hurdle to holding the governorship. The general election in November will be a contest between whoever wins the Republican nomination and Democrat Dan Ahlers, a former state senator, though Republicans have dominated the state's statewide elections for years.
Beyond the local contest, the race has drawn wider attention as an example of how cryptocurrency-focused candidates and donors are increasingly trying to influence state-level politics in the United States, testing whether that approach can succeed against an established incumbent.
Coverage
- Fox News — GOP governor survives challenge from Bitcoin evangelist in gubernatorial runoff
- The Hill — South Dakota governor fends off challenger in primary runoff