explore / Contest Page
Read the current governor state first, then inspect ratings, polling, markets, fundraising, and history for South Dakota in one evidence flow.
Evidence & provenance
Source owners
Akashic Edge race ratings, polling ingests, Polymarket odds, fundraising files, and U.S. Census context.
Freshness
Rendered Apr 14, 2026 from the latest stored polling, market, and race-rating snapshots.
Boundary scope
2026 statewide race page for the current state and office only.
Claim type
Manual race ratings, stored live-market snapshots, polling context, and deterministic demographic history.
Polling and market panels fail closed. If a feed is missing or stale, this page states that directly instead of implying current coverage.
Noem’s departure to become DHS Secretary created this unusual open seat. Rhoden (27%) and Dusty Johnson (28%) are in a statistical tie in the GOP primary, with 21% undecided. Johnson is a Problem Solvers Caucus moderate, which positions him well for a general election that won’t be competitive anyway — but could hurt him in a Republican primary where Jon Hansen is pulling from the right. Rhoden has 57% approval as the accidental incumbent. South Dakota is R+16 by PVI and Democrats are fielding party staff and college students as candidates. Safe R.
Updated 2026-03-03