Coverage spread: 3 sources — 1 left · 1 center · 1 right
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Rhoden defeats Doeden in historic runoff
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden won the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary runoff on Tuesday, defeating businessman and “Bitcoin evangelist” Toby Doeden in what both the Associated Press and NBC News describe as the first gubernatorial primary runoff in South Dakota history. According to Fox News, the Associated Press called the race for Rhoden within minutes of polls closing, with Rhoden holding roughly 70.5% of the vote to Doeden’s 29.5% when approximately 25% of the expected vote had been counted.
The runoff was triggered because South Dakota law requires a head-to-head runoff between the top two finishers in a gubernatorial, U.S. Senate or U.S. House primary if no candidate clears 35% of the vote. In the original four-way Republican primary in June, Doeden finished first with about 30-31% of the vote and Rhoden placed second with about 25%, according to both Fox News and NBC News. Two other Republicans in that initial field, Rep. Dusty Johnson and state House Speaker Jon Hansen, did not advance to the runoff.
Backgrounds of the candidates
Rhoden ascended to the governorship in early 2025 after Kristi Noem left the post to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump (NBC News notes she was later fired from that federal role). Rhoden had previously served as lieutenant governor and is now seeking his first full term as governor in his own right.
Doeden, a political newcomer, built part of his public profile around cryptocurrency advocacy. Fox News details that he began investing heavily in Bitcoin around 2020 after roughly 500 hours of research, converting much of his companies’ spare cash reserves into the currency, and was quoted from his podcast saying he would “buy bitcoin forever, every single day” and that he both mines and buys it. He backed legislation to let South Dakota’s Investment Council — which manages public pension funds — invest in Bitcoin, and called for the state to create a Bitcoin reserve, a proposal state investment and budget officials opposed. Doeden largely self-funded his campaign and, per NBC News, outspent Rhoden on advertising during the runoff.
Campaign themes
Both candidates cast themselves as strong Trump allies, though Trump did not endorse in the race, according to NBC News. Rhoden emphasized his record of “uniting Republicans from all factions,” while Doeden argued the state needed “bold conservative leadership, not career politicians.” Rhoden’s campaign focused on cutting property taxes, fighting crime, and touting South Dakota’s unemployment rate, which he noted is the lowest in the nation. Doeden also campaigned on reducing property taxes, along with deporting migrants, supporting rural communities, and opposing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state government. Fox News specifically flags property taxes as a defining issue heading into the runoff. NBC News adds that Rhoden faced attack ads branding him a “career politician,” funded by a super PAC connected to the conservative Club for Growth, which did not formally endorse either candidate.
What’s next
Rhoden now advances to the November general election to face Democrat Dan Ahlers, a former state senator. Both Fox News and NBC News note the steep odds facing any Democrat in South Dakota: the state has not elected a Democratic governor since Richard Kneip won reelection in 1974, and its last Democratic governor, Harvey Wollman, only took office in 1978 after automatically succeeding Kneip upon his resignation — he left office in 1979. NBC News further points out that South Dakota’s entire federal delegation, its two U.S. senators and lone U.S. House member, are all Republicans.
How the coverage compares
The Hill’s headline confirms the outcome but no article text was available for its framing. Fox News and NBC News offer the most detailed accounts and largely agree on the core facts: the historic nature of the runoff, the vote percentages from June, and the general-election matchup with Ahlers. Fox News devotes considerably more attention to Doeden’s cryptocurrency background and advocacy, including direct quotes from his podcast and details about his push for a state Bitcoin reserve — material NBC News does not mention. NBC News, by contrast, provides more detail on campaign finance dynamics, including Doeden’s self-funding and outspending Rhoden on ads, as well as the Club for Growth-linked super PAC’s attack ads against Rhoden, details absent from the Fox News piece. Both outlets agree on the property-tax focus of the campaign and the candidates’ competing claims to Trump-aligned conservatism, though neither reports Trump making an endorsement.
Why it matters
The contest is notable both as a procedural first for South Dakota — its inaugural gubernatorial runoff under the state’s 35% threshold rule — and as a test of how an incumbent who ascended via succession, rather than election, fares against a well-funded, ideologically distinct primary challenger backed by his own wealth and a cryptocurrency-focused platform. Rhoden’s decisive margin suggests he consolidated Republican support after the fractured four-way primary, setting up what both outlets characterize as a lopsided general election given South Dakota’s decades-long Republican dominance in statewide races.
Sources
Featured photo: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)