South Dakota GOP Primaries See Incumbent Losses; Rhoden, Doeden Advance in Governor's Race

South Dakota held Republican primary elections, including a gubernatorial primary in which Governor Larry Rhoden and challenger Toby Doeden advanced, defeating U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and state House Speaker Jon Hansen. Separately, primary results for state legislative races showed that 16 Republican incumbents lost their seats, following 14 incumbent losses in the 2024 cycle. In the gubernatorial race, Rhoden and Doeden participated in a debate hosted by SDPB and South Dakota News Watch in Sioux Falls, where the two shook hands afterward. During campaign discussions, Rhoden pointed to Senate Bills 96 and 245, passed by the state legislature, which he said would reduce owner-occupied property taxes by 34%. The legislative primary losses were attributed in reporting to heavy political action committee (PAC) spending and shifting factional alignments within the state party, though specific PAC names, spending totals, and the districts affected were not detailed in available reporting. The governor's race between Rhoden and Doeden proceeded following the June 2 primary, with no additional details available on a subsequent runoff or general election timeline. The full scope of the incumbent losses—including which specific legislative seats changed hands and the identities of winning challengers—remains unreported in the available sourcing. It is also unresolved how the property tax legislation cited by Rhoden connects, if at all, to the factional dynamics behind the incumbent defeats.