From KELOland, Governor Rhoden has apparently announced this afternoon that he’s running:
Dan Santella: So, you’re running to stay governor in ’26.
Larry Rhoden: That’s right.and..
Asked which issues will be the biggest on the campaign trail, the governor quotes Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump and his famous line that life is like a box of chocolates: we never quite know what we’re going to get. But here Rhoden pivots to a quality that’s less sweet than sour.
“Part of what makes me feel the best equipped to be governor as such a time as this is some of the, just the times we live in and kind of the toxic environment that seems to want to keep boiling up and even in the legislature,” Rhoden said.
Read the entire story here at KELOland.
Well, what do you think?
grudznick hopes his campaign team enlists the Rhoden Rhangers to spread the word. Maybe help with some of the events. They have been waiting years for this.
Rhoden Rhangers is defined as a club of one: Sandy
They are all old and can’t get around very well, campaign appearances must be over by 4:30 in time to head to Denny’s.
Hruska has made a lot of calls around Pierre to get people to attend. It might be a club of two.
He shut the door on big expansion business. SD is closed for business.
Not got my vote.
all hat no cattle
Scary to think that Doeden has a more pro-business record.
Larry is just comfortable and doesn’t want to move, but he really doesn’t have any ideas other than what Tony gives him after he steals them from Dusty.
Hold on. Need to get an aspirin. This made my head hurt.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Was Doeden on the stage or in the audience thanking Larry for entering the race?
I presume Toby is throwing a party tonight and Tony is regretting his decision.
Doeden just got 27% closer to being the next Governor.
That’s an odd comment when Rhoden was at 27% without having announced (or spending any money). Almost all people paying attention have been wondering when he would announce-and hoping he would. Without having spent anything vs Dusty’s $1M (or so), I suspect his % will go up after his announcement. I guess time will tell.
There is no chance Dusty has spent a million yet. Once he does I am sure you’ll know.
Yuuuuup. Seems legit.
I think you have it backward. Tony is throwing the party and Toby is nervous as he!!
Lesson #1 when you’re running for office: have a WHY for running. That is the first and most basic question people will ask. “You never know what you’re going to get?” What a dumb answer. Then he goes to ‘because of the toxic environment’. Huh? The problem with this campaign is that Rhoden will not consistently be able to articulate a message of WHY, and when pressed by anybody he’ll get frustrated and defensive. And then his former loyal-to-Dusty Lt. Gov may articulate a smart message but his awkwardness will drown out what’s he’s saying.
Will Tonnis be at the announcement? Are they a ticket or is this just Larry?
Will Daugaard be there?
Already endorsed dusty. Thanksgiving will be awkward. Well, more so than usual.
Is your reading comprehension compromised? The box of chocolates/never know what you’re going to get was the answer to what he expects on the campaign trail, NOT why he’s running.
As to the why, you only refer to the first part and fail to mention the second part which clearly sums up the WHY. Read more next time. “We’d resolve those conflicts and understand that we’re not going to get 100% of what we want, but we’d work for the betterment of the state and make that our central focus,” Rhoden said, referring to a previous time. “And I think we can get back to that, and I think I’m the right guy to help us do it.”
And he’s done just that for years. Compromised and gotten things done.
His handling of the last session proved to me that he isn’t the right guy to do that. He directly contributed to the chaos by emboldening the whackos. Needed their vote I guess
Mike Derby tried starting a standing ovation for Larry at the Sanford event this morning in Rapid. But Derby ended up looking like a fool standing by himself as nobody else was too enthused by the short speech Larry read.
No vision. No charisma. Toxic environment? Look in the mirror Larry.
Mike, the one and only fan club.
Mike swings a big stick.
This was embarrassing for both Derby and Rhoden. Cringe.
Mike Derby is the one of the weakest legislators in our state legislature, and that’s saying something. He’s a spend-first Republican who opposes term limits and has zero credibility amongst most other legislators. Not the kind of person you want front and center in your campaign.
Mike Derby is a terrific human being. If he’s so weak, can you explain how he keeps getting re-elected over and over? His district must be quite satisfied.
Always good to hear from you, Mike. To answer your question, he’s an incumbent with name recognition and without a strong opponent.
He hasn’t had a real opponent yet. This cycle may be different from what I have heard…
Best of luck Governor Rhoden and everyone else running.
I plan to support whomever wins a legitimate election having integrity and transparency.
I don’t care who is in office.
I care about good policy and productive profitable way of life with lots of capital to fuel an engine of innovation guided by true South Dakotan values and conscience.
I’ve battled with and against Larry Rhoden. I’ve seen him grow from a Union Center centric West River rancher, to a “how can we solve this” guy. I’ve seen him smile, and at least twice I’ve seen him made enough to want to reach across the table and rip out my wind pipe.
He’s the real deal. He’s a stable South Dakotan looking to do one job – be the best Governor he can be for our state. The campaign is long and time will tell, but the dismissive comments above might not be grasping what’s going on in coffee shops across our state.
South Dakota deserves a robust primary debating ideas and styles for governing. I think we will have it.
With all do respect, the only thing I know about Governor Rhoden is that he’s desperate to be Governor. He didn’t get it on his own accord but relied on Sec. Noem to get there.
I’m not aware of anything original he’s ever done.
I’m not aware of any issue he’s ever championed.
I’m not aware of any cause he’s considered on expert on.
He has mediocre name recognition as a low-energy sitting Governor.
There is so much ground to make up when you have charismatic people already running against him for the post. Will be interesting to see how he sells himself, as something other than someone desperate to cling to something.
Perfectly said, right on point. Lee Schoenbeck is smart guy, but if he’s hitched his horse to Larry Rhoden, I have to question his judgment.
I’m glad you repeated it so many times because by the rest of your comment(s), it proves true – You definitely are NOT AWARE – of a lot of things apparently. You seem to think you are but glad you recognized it yourself and shared with us that you simply “are not aware”. Thank you for being honest.
Anon Rhoden Campaign Staffer,
I’m glad you think I am ill-informed. if I am an average South Dakota voter- this should be an immediate red flag for his campaign. If I’m not – it should be a clear indication that his resume is short on achievements.
Unfortunately, I follow politics in the state, I have a general idea of who is moving bills and getting things done, and unfortunately Governor Rhoden is all hat and no cattle.
Is this your endorsement for the Governor?
Translation–Larry is a know it all hot head who throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. Got it.
Lee, you have become perhaps the most disliked and least credible Republican in the entire state. Do you not understand that you created the “Wackadoodles”? You are a primary reason the political landscape in South Dakota is in shambles. Nobody cares about your opinion anymore.