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Larry Rhoden

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Larry Rhoden
39th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2019
GovernorKristi Noem
Preceded byMatt Michels
Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives
from the 29th district
In office
January 10, 2017 – January 5, 2019
Preceded byDean Wink
Succeeded byKirk Chaffee
In office
January 9, 2001 – January 13, 2009
Preceded byKenneth McNenny
Succeeded byDean Wink
Member of the South Dakota Senate
from the 29th district
In office
January 13, 2009 – January 13, 2015
Preceded byKenneth McNenny[1]
Succeeded byGary Cammack[2]
Personal details
Born (1959-02-05) February 5, 1959 (age 65)
Sturgis, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children4
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1978–1985
UnitSouth Dakota National Guard

Larry Rhoden (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota since 2019.

A Republican, he served as a member of the state House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009 and later from 2017 to 2019, and as a member of the state senate from 2009 to 2015. Rhoden was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in the 2014 election, where he ran as a conservative opponent in the Republican primary to eventual winner Mike Rounds.[3]

Early life

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Rhoden was born and raised on a farm. He grew up attending church, and graduated from Sunshine Bible Academy in 1977. After high school, he served in the South Dakota National Guard from 1978 to 1985, carrying on a family legacy of military service that began in the Revolutionary War. While his children were young, he served as a church trustee and earned a seat on the local school board, and led the Board of Directors for the area Cenex.[4]

Career

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Rhoden served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2001 to 2008, spending four years as majority leader. After being term-limited, Rhoden was elected to the state senate. In 2010, Rhoden ran for senate majority leader, but lost to Russell Olson.[5]

Rhoden served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee and the State Affairs committee.[6] He has backed bills to arm volunteers in schools, and sponsored a legislative finding saying that the "Founding Fathers freely and willingly abjured all legislative and executive authority to regulate gun ownership and usage… to individual citizens."[5]

2014 U.S. Senate candidacy

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Main article: 2014 United States Senate election in South Dakota

Rhoden ran for a United States Senate seat in 2014, calling himself a "conservative voice for limited government." Rhoden spoke out against abortion, same-sex marriage, "career politicians," "activist judges," and immigration "amnesty."[7] Rhoden signed a pledge to never raise taxes, and supports de-funding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[8]

Rhoden spoke at a conference organized by the conservative organization RedState, criticizing fellow candidate Mike Rounds's position on taxes.[9] Rounds defeated Rhoden by a margin of 41,377 to 13,393 in the June 2, 2014 primary.[10]

Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota (2019–present)

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2018 gubernatorial election

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Main article: 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election

Kristi Noem announced on June 20, 2018, that Rhoden would be her running mate as lieutenant governor. Noem had previously referred to the role of a prospective lieutenant governor, stating that "I would do it a little differently maybe than Daugaard and Michels have done it." She further stated that "I don’t see the lieutenant governor filling as big a role as Michels did. I'm just a believer that there are certain decisions the governor has to make, and so maybe it would be more of a traditional role than what we saw in the last administration."[11]

Tenure

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Rhoden assumed office on January 5, 2019.

On May 5, 2020, Governor Noem announced that South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Kim Vanneman would be resigning effective May 8, 2020, and that Rhoden was being named interim agriculture secretary.[12] On August 27, 2020, Governor Noem announced that she was merging the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which would be called the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and be led by Secretary Hunter Roberts, and thereby ending Rhoden's interim role as Ag secretary.[13]

On June 20, 2020, at the Republican State Convention, Rhoden was elected to be one of South Dakota's three Republican Presidential Electors along with Governor Kristi Noem and Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.[14]

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would select Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, which would mean that Rhoden will succeed her as Governor should she be confirmed by the US Senate and subsequently resign as governor.[15]

Personal life

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Rhoden lives in Union Center, South Dakota. He and his wife, Sandy, have four children and 4 grand children.[16] Rhoden is a rancher by trade and runs and owns a cow-calf operation and custom welding business.[2][17]

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - SD State Senate 29 Race - Nov 04, 2008".
  2. ^ a b "Larry Rhoden".
  3. ^ Weigel, David (July 31, 2013). "Mike Rounds, the Republican Most Likely to Take Over a Democratic Senate Seat, and His Struggles With the Tea Party". Slate Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Governor Kristi Noem - South Dakota: America's Beacon of Freedom". Archived from the original on August 25, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Montgomery, David (July 9, 2013). "Who is Larry Rhoden?". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  6. ^ "Senator Larry Rhoden". South Dakota Legislature. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Montgomery, David (July 10, 2013). "Rhoden strikes conservative tone in campaign kickoff". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Montgomery, David (July 30, 2013). "Senate hopeful Larry Rhoden says his hard line aligns with right". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  9. ^ Montgomery, David (August 2, 2013). "Rhoden: Stand by your position". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  10. ^ "2014 Election Results" (PDF). sdsos.gov. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Woster, Kevin. "Next up for Noem: picking a running mate, planning a general-election race, holding a rummage sale". SDPB.org. South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
  12. ^ "Noem Appoints Lt. Gov as Interim Ag Secretary". SDPB.org. South Dakota Public Broadcasting. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  13. ^ "Governor Noem announces Merging of Agriculture and Environment and Natural Resources Departments". news.sd.gov. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Convention Results". southdakotagopconvention.com. June 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Hanna, John; Karnowski, Steve (November 13, 2024). "Noem's Cabinet appointment will make a plain-spoken rancher South Dakota's new governor". Associated Press. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  16. ^ "Larry Rhoden's Political Summary". VoteSmart. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  17. ^ Hayworth, Bret (July 10, 2013). "Politically Speaking: Rhoden enters S.D. Senate race, setting GOP primary with Mike Rounds". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
2018, 2022 		Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
2019–present 		Incumbent
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