List of governors of South Dakota

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current governor is Larry Rhoden, representing the Republican Party, serving since 2025.

Governors

Template:For Dakota Territory was organized on March 2, 1861;<ref>Template:Usstat</ref> on November 2, 1889, it was split into the states of North Dakota and South Dakota.<ref>Template:Usstat</ref>

The Constitution of South Dakota originally provided for the election of a governor and lieutenant governor every two years with no limits. A law passed in 1947 prohibited parties from nominating someone who had served two consecutive terms, effectively creating a term limit, and an amendment in 1972 increased term lengths to four years while formally prohibiting someone from serving three consecutive terms. Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.Template:Sfn

The Republican Party has been in control of the governorship continuously since 1979, Democrats last won the governorship of South Dakota in 1974. This is the longest drought of any state where the opposite party last held the office.

Governors of the State of South Dakota

Template:Abbr	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. GovernorTemplate:Efn
1		rowspan="4" style="background: Template:Party color;"|	Arthur C. Mellette Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-mellette">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:DtsTemplate:Efn – January 3, 1893 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1889	rowspan="21" style="background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
		1890		Template:Sortname
2		Charles H. Sheldon Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-sheldon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 3rd sess., 28, accessed July 4, 2023</ref> – January 5, 1897 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1892	Template:Sortname
			1894
3		rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Andrew E. Lee Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-lee">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 5th sess., 3, accessed July 4, 2023</ref> – January 8, 1901 Template:Small	Populist	1896	Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn
		1898		Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn
4		rowspan="13" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Charles N. Herreid Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-herreid">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 3, 1905 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1900	Template:Sortname
		1902
5		Samuel H. Elrod Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-elrod">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 9th sess., 21, accessed July 4, 2023</ref> – January 8, 1907 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1904	Template:Sortname
6		Coe I. Crawford Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-crawford">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 5, 1909 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1906	Template:Sortname
7		Robert S. Vessey Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-vessey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 7, 1913 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1908
			1910			Template:Sortname
8		Frank M. Byrne Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-byrne">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 2, 1917 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1912	Template:Sortname
			1914			Template:Sortname
9		Peter Norbeck Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-norbeck">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 4, 1921 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1916	Template:Sortname
			1918
10		William H. McMaster Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-mcmaster">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 6, 1925 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1920	Template:Sortname
			1922
11		Carl Gunderson Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-gunderson">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 3, 1927 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1924	Template:Sortname
12		rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	William J. Bulow Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-bulow">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 6, 1931 Template:Small	DemocraticTemplate:Sfn	1926	Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn
		1928		Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn Template:Small
				style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|			Template:Sortname
13		style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Warren Green Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-green">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 3, 1933 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1930	style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
14		rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Tom Berry Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-berry">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 5, 1937 Template:Small	DemocraticTemplate:Sfn	1932	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
		1934		Template:Sortname
15		rowspan="11" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Leslie Jensen Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-jensen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 3, 1939 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1936	rowspan="17" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
16		Harlan J. Bushfield Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-bushfield">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 5, 1943 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1938
			1940			Template:Sortname
17		Merrell Q. Sharpe Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-sharpe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 28th sess., 16, accessed July 4, 2023</ref> – January 7, 1947 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn		1942
			1944			Template:Sortname
18		George T. Mickelson Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-mickelson-george-t">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 30th sess., 8, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 2, 1951 Template:SmallTemplate:Sfn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn		1946
			1948			Template:Sortname
19		Sigurd Anderson Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-anderson">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 32nd sess., 7, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 4, 1955 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn		1950
			1952
20		Joe Foss Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-foss">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 34th sess., 8, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 6, 1959 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1954	Template:Sortname
			1956
21	File:Ralph Herseth.jpg	style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Ralph Herseth Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-herseth">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 3, 1961 Template:Small	DemocraticTemplate:Sfn	1958	Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn
22	File:Archie M. Gubbrud 1962 (cropped).jpg	rowspan="5" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Archie M. Gubbrud Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-gubbrud">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 37th sess., 11, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 5, 1965 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1960	Template:Sortname
		1962		Template:Sortname
23	File:Nils Boe.jpg	Nils Boe Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-boe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 40th sess., 4, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 7, 1969 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1964	Template:Sortname
			1966
24	File:Frank Farrar.png	Frank Farrar Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-farrar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 44th sess., 4, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – January 5, 1971 Template:Small	RepublicanTemplate:Sfn	1968	Template:Sortname
25	File:Dick Kneip.jpg	rowspan="4" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Richard F. Kneip Template:Small Template:Sfn<ref name="nga-kneip">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>South Dakota Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 46th sess., 4, accessed July 5, 2023</ref> – July 24, 1978 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	DemocraticTemplate:Sfn	1970	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
		1972
		1974		Template:Sortname
26	File:Harvey Wollman.png	Harvey Wollman Template:Small <ref name="nga-wollman">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 1, 1979 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Democratic<ref name="nga-wollman" />	Template:Small	Vacant
27	File:William Janklow (South Dakota Governor).jpg	rowspan="15" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Bill Janklow Template:Small <ref name="nga-janklow">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 10, 1987 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Republican<ref name="nga-janklow" />	1978	rowspan="13" style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|	Template:Sortname
		1982
28	File:George S. Mickelson (cropped).jpeg	George S. Mickelson Template:Small <ref name="nga-mickelson-george-s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – April 19, 1993 Template:Small	Republican<ref name="nga-mickelson-george-s" />	1986	Template:Sortname
			1990
29	File:Walter Miller.png	Walter Dale Miller Template:Small <ref name="nga-miller">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 7, 1995 Template:Small	Republican<ref name="nga-miller" />	Template:Small	Template:Sortname
30	File:William Janklow (South Dakota Governor).jpg	Bill Janklow Template:Small <ref name="nga-janklow" />	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 7, 2003 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Republican<ref name="nga-janklow" />	1994	Template:Sortname
					1998
31	File:Mike Rounds official photo.JPG	Mike Rounds Template:Small <ref name="nga-rounds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 8, 2011 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Republican<ref name="nga-rounds" />	2002	Template:Sortname
			2006
32	File:Dennis Daugaard in 2017.jpg	Dennis Daugaard Template:Small <ref name="nga-daugaard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 5, 2019 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Republican<ref name="nga-daugaard" />	2010	Template:Sortname
			2014
33	File:Kristi Noem Portrait 2 (cropped).jpg	Kristi Noem Template:Small <ref name="nga-noem">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> – January 25, 2025 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn	Republican<ref name="nga-noem" />	2018	Template:Sortname
			2022
34	File:Larry Rhoden 2025 (cropped).jpg	Larry Rhoden Template:Small	Template:Dts<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> – IncumbentTemplate:Efn	Republican	Template:Small	Vacant
				style="color:inherit;background: Template:Party color;"|			Template:Sortname Template:Small

Electoral history (1950–)

Year	Democratic nominee				Republican nominee				Libertarian nominee				Independent candidate				Other candidate
	Candidate		#	%	Candidate		#	%	Candidate		#	%	Candidate		#	%	Candidate		#	%
1950	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Joe Robbie	99,062	39.11%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Sigurd Anderson	154,254	60.89%	–				–				–
1952	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Sherman A. Iverson	86,413	29.85%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Sigurd Anderson	203,102	70.15%	–				–				–
1954	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ed C. Martin	102,377	43.33%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Joe Foss	133,878	56.67%	–				–				–
1956	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ralph Herseth	133,198	45.61%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Joe Foss	158,819	54.39%	–				–				–
1958	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ralph Herseth	132,761	51.40%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Phil Saunders	125,520	48.60%	–				–				–
1960	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ralph Herseth	150,095	49.27%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Archie M. Gubbrud	154,530	50.73%	–				–				–
1962	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ralph Herseth	112,438	43.90%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Archie M. Gubbrud	143,682	56.10%	–				–				–
1964	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	John F. Lindley	140,919	48.33%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Nils Boe	150,151	51.67%	–				–				–
1966	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Robert Chamberlin	96,504	42.29%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Nils Boe	131,710	57.71%	–				–				–
1968	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Robert Chamberlin	117,260	42.35%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Frank Farrar	159,646	57.65%	–				–				–
1970	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Richard F. Kneip	131,616	54.85%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Frank Farrar	108,347	45.15%	–				–				–
1972	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Richard F. Kneip	185,012	60.03%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Carveth Thompson	123,165	39.97%	–				–				–
1974	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Richard F. Kneip	149,151	53.61%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	John E. Olson	129,077	46.39%	–				–				–
1978	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Roger D. McKellips	112,679	43.37%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bill Janklow	147,116	56.63%	–				–				–
1982	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Mike O'Connor	81,136	29.13%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bill Janklow	197,429	70.87%	–				–				–
1986	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Lars Herseth	141,898	48.19%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	George S. Mickelson	154,543	51.81%	–				–				–
1990	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bob L. Samuelson	105,525	41.10%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	George S. Mickelson	151,198	58.90%	–				–				–
1994	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Jim Beddow	126,273	40.52%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bill Janklow	172,515	55.36%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Nathan A. Barton	12,825	4.12%	–				–
1998	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bernie Hunhoff	85,473	32.85%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bill Janklow	166,621	64.04%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Bob Newland	4,389	1.69%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Ronald Wieczorek	3,704	1.42%	–
2002	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Jim Abbott	140,263	41.92%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Mike Rounds	189,920	56.77%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Nathan A. Barton	1,983	0.59%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	James P. Carlson	2,393	0.72%	–
2006	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Jack Billion	121,226	36.13%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Mike Rounds	206,990	61.69%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Tom Gerber	3,282	0.98%	–				bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Template:Nowrap	4,010	1.20%
2010	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Scott Heidepriem	122,037	38.49%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Dennis Daugaard	195,046	61.51%	–				–				–
2014	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Susan Wismer	70,549	25.43%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Dennis Daugaard	195,477	70.47%	–				bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Michael J. Myers	11,377	4.10%	–
2018	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Billie Sutton	161,454	47.60%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Kristi Noem	172,912	50.97%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Kurt Evans	4,848	1.43%	–				–
2022	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Jamie Smith	123,148	35.17%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Kristi Noem	217,035	61.98%	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Tracey Quint	9,983	2.85%	–				–

See also

• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#South Dakota
• List of South Dakota state legislatures

References

General

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Specific

External links

• Office of the Governor of South Dakota