South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has won the state’s first-ever Republican gubernatorial runoff election and will advance to the November general election.
The Associated Press called the race just minutes after polls closed Tuesday evening. Unofficial results from the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office show Rhoden defeating Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden by a margin of 71 percent to 29 percent, with all precincts reporting.
More than 118,000 Republicans cast ballots statewide. Rhoden received more than 83,000 votes and carried Pennington County with 67 percent of the vote.
The runoff was triggered after four candidates competed in the June Republican primary and no candidate reached the 35 percent threshold required to secure the nomination outright. Rhoden and Doeden emerged as the top two finishers and advanced to the historic runoff election.
In a statement following the results, Doeden congratulated Rhoden and pledged his full support heading into the general election, calling for Republicans to unite behind the nominee.
Rhoden, who became governor after succeeding former Governor Kristi Noem, will now face Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers in South Dakota’s November general election.
