Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden announced today that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2026. He is the owner of Doeden Investment Group, which owns a number of business and commercial properties including Aberdeen Chrysler Center and Redfield Ford.
Doeden, 50, has emerged on the political scene in the past two years, with media reports indicating that he had not voted in recent Republican primaries until 2024. That year, he briefly considered a challenge to Congressman Dusty Johnson. Then, through his “Dakota First” political action committee, Doeden became active in the populist movement within the state Republican Party, supporting like-minded legislative candidates.
Doeden is the second gubernatorial candidate to officially launch his campaign, following House Speaker Jon Hansen, who announced last month. Other Republicans thought to be considering candidacies include Governor Larry Rhoden, Congressman Dusty Johnson, and Attorney General Marty Jackley.
Four South Dakota governors have been elected without having previously held any state or federal elected office, although all four had some prior political involvement:
- Andrew E. Lee, South Dakota’s 3rd governor, who served from 1897-1901. Lee was a member of the Populist Party and was elected in 1896 by a fusion ticket backed by Populists and Democrats. The owner of a mercantile business and large farm and ranch operations, Lee was one of the state’s wealthiest citizens, and had served as mayor of Vermillion and on the city council.
- Samuel H. Elrod, who was the 5th governor from 1905-07. Elrod had come to Dakota Territory at the behest of his friend, Arthur C. Mellette, later the state’s first governor. Elrod was a delegate to the 1883 constitutional convention, served as Clark County state’s attorney, was the federal agent to the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe, and unsuccessfully ran for U.S. House in 1898.
- Leslie Jensen, the 15th governor from 1937-39. Jensen had been the federal Internal Revenue director for South Dakota for twelve years, and then had returned to Hot Springs to operate his family’s telephone business. He was the only Republican to challenge Governor Tom Berry’s bid in 1936 for a third two-year term, and defeated Berry in an upset.
- Harlan J. Bushfield, the 16th governor from 1939-43. A Miller attorney, Bushfield had served as Hand County State’s Attorney and had run unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for attorney general in 1918. He had been the South Dakota Republican Party chairman in 1936-38, overseeing a successful election campaign that included Leslie Jensen’s aforementioned upset of Tom Berry. When Jensen forewent a second gubernatorial term to run for U.S. Senate, Bushfield was elected to replace Jensen as governor.
Both Doeden’s hometown of Groton and his residence of Aberdeen are in Brown County. That county has produced one governor, Ralph E. Herseth, a Democrat who was his party’s nominee for governor in four consecutive elections and who was elected once, serving from 1959-61. The Herseth family has remained prominent ever since; Ralph’s wife, Lorna Herseth, served as Secretary of State from 1973-79; their son, Lars, was a legislative leader and the 1986 Democratic nominee for governor; and Lars’ daughter, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, served in the U.S. House from 2004-11 and is now the president of Augustana University.
SoDak Governors 