South Dakota’s Political Prominence Brings Change and Uncertainty
In the wake of the 2024 general election, South Dakota has seen some of its politicians sent to prominent positions.
Senator John Thune won a bid to become the Senate Republicans next leader, replacing Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
“I wasn’t surprised by that at all,” said political science professor Julia Hellwege. “I think has done very well as the whip for the Republican Party and has worked hard to create some semblance of cohesion.”
USD political science professor Tim Schorn believes that there are potential risks to Thune’s ascension to majority leader. In 2004, Thune narrowly defeated then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle by a few thousand votes.
“The question becomes, do South Dakotans feel that as majority leader, that he is forgetting his South Dakota roots and becoming more a national politician,” Schorn said.
Schorn said he thinks this issue played a role in Daschle’s defeat in 2004.
Since 2004, South Dakota has trended politically to the right, as no Democratic candidate has won a statewide election since 2008.
On the executive front, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.
Schorn says this nomination will help bolster Noem’s career out of state.
“She’s finished in South Dakota, and she knows she’s finished in South Dakota. This is her ticket out and to a future,” Schorn said.
“The South Dakota Republican [party] is not monolithic or homogeneous. I think some of them are probably bidding good riddance and farewell.”
Hellwege says she was surprised to see Noem in a cabinet position.
“I don’t think she put her best face forward in some recent things,” Hellwege said. “It’s almost like she tried too hard, and she kind of fell flat on her face, which is unfortunate for her.”
Hellwege thinks Noem’s appointment is one example of a greater trend in Trump’s appointing of loyal supporters to cabinet roles.
“There are a few different approaches,” Hellwege said with regard to who presidents appoint to cabinet positions. “Some want to pick a cabinet that are truly experts, like Bush,” Hellwege said. “Some have chosen their picks based on loyalty.”
The implications of a Noem DHS secretary would result in a vacancy in the governor’s office. The South Dakota Constitution deems the lieutenant governor as governor in the event of a vacancy. Currently, Larry Rhoden, a longtime legislator and rancher from West River, has served as lieutenant governor for six years.
“I think Rhoden’s going to be much more of an old school South Dakota Republican, and this isn’t to say he isn’t conservative,” Schorn said.
Should Rhoden become governor, he would be able to nominate a new lieutenant governor, which both the House and Senate would need to confirm.
Hellwege says she does not know who would replace Rhoden as lieutenant governor.
The legislature has also seen a shakeup, with an entirely new slate of leadership for the 2025 legislative session. In June, fourteen Republican legislators lost reelections in the primary election. Some believe voters saw the legislators as too friendly to the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline that would transit the northeast part of the state.
Rep. Scott Odenbach (R-Spearfish) defeated majority leader Rep. Will Mortenson (R-Fort Pierre) for a reelection bid.
In the Senate, Sen. Jim Mehlhaff (R- Pierre) won the position of Senate majority leader from Sen. Casey Crabtree (R-Madison). In addition, Sen. Carl Perry (R-Aberdeen) was elected Speaker Pro Tempore, following outgoing Sen. Lee Schoenbeck (R-Watertown).
“I think I expect us to see a very loud legislature with minimum product,” Schorn said.
Looking to the future, next year will have a large impact on the 2026 elections, when all of South Dakota’s statewide offices are up for election, as well as the United States Representative and one of the two United States Senate seats.
