South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden chats with legislative staff during the 2025 legislative session on Jan. 21, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – Larry Rhoden owes his new job as governor to Kristi Noem, but her political career might have stalled shortly after it began if not for his help, according to a story they’ve both shared publicly.
As a new state legislator in 2007, Noem thought a fellow Republican lawmaker from her district was insufficiently devoted to anti-abortion legislation. She aired that view in an email to constituents, which angered other Republicans.
Rhoden told the story earlier this month while introducing Noem for her last State of the State speech.
“She got herself in a little trouble, kind of put her foot in her mouth over an issue, and there was a lot of consternation among her colleagues,” he said.
Rhoden was the state House majority leader at the time. He arranged a group dinner with Noem, telling other attendees that she didn’t “have a lot of friends.” The advice Noem received that evening and the relationships she formed helped to put her on a path to political success.
Noem was eventually elected to Congress, and then became South Dakota’s first female governor with Rhoden serving as her lieutenant governor. Now she’s the secretary of the federal Department of Homeland Security, and Rhoden has succeeded her as governor. He’ll serve the remainder of her second term through 2026, when he’ll have to decide whether to seek his own term in that year’s election.
South Dakotans know a lot about Noem, after her many statewide campaigns, her two books and her consistent presence on social media. They’re less acquainted with Rhoden, who took the oath of office Monday as South Dakota’s 34th governor. Rhoden said as much when he addressed the Legislature during a joint session on Tuesday.
Ranching roots
The 65-year-old is a fourth-generation rancher from rural Union Center, in western South Dakota. He values his faith, family and hard work, he said in his speech. He and his wife, Sandy, have four grown sons and seven grandchildren.
Rhoden’s brother still lives on the land where their grandfather homesteaded, while Rhoden lives nearby. His family has a tradition of military service, he said, including in the Revolutionary War and the world wars. Instead of going to college after graduating from high school, Rhoden joined the National Guard.
He’s now the 12th governor in South Dakota history to lack a college degree, and the first since Walter Dale Miller, another Republican rancher and lieutenant governor who took over as governor after the death of Gov. George Mickelson in 1993.
Rhoden joined the state Legislature in 2000, where he served for 16 years. His interests during his legislative career included property rights, pro-gun policies, anti-abortion legislation and tax reform.
In 2014, he ran in a five-way race for the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat. He finished a distant second to former Gov. Mike Rounds, who went on to win the general election.
South Dakota Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden chats with legislative staff during the 2025 legislative session on Jan. 21, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Humorous and serious
Rhoden joined Noem as her running mate in her successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign, after she’d served four terms in the U.S. House. As Noem generated national headlines during her administration, Rhoden was a quiet, sometimes comedic presence in the background.
While fulfilling the lieutenant governor’s dual role as president of the state Senate, he broke two gavels with his powerful strike, earning him good-natured ribbing from legislators and a heavy-duty aluminum gavel as a gift. He also made his own wooden gavels and put his 40 years of custom welding experience to use crafting a “VETO” branding iron for Noem.
While participating in a 2017 debate about legislation to permit concealed guns in the Capitol (an idea that eventually succeeded), Rhoden hit a panic button in a committee room to see how quickly authorities would respond.
In her first book, Noem recalled her years serving in the Legislature with Rhoden and said they were part of a group of lawmakers and lobbyists who enjoyed the “Seinfeld” sitcom and compared themselves to the cast. The group decided Rhoden “was a lot like Kramer,” Noem wrote, “with his funny expressions and crazy head tilts.”
Noem also described Rhoden in her book as a strategic thinker who knew “when a good quip was exactly what was needed to ease the tension in the room.”
Tim Rave was a member of that group of friends. He’s now the South Dakota Board of Regents president and South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations executive director. He laughed at the “Seinfeld” memory, saying Rhoden took the Kramer comparison well.
Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to the media after taking the oath of office on Jan. 27, 2025, at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota NewsMedia Association)
Rave, a former speaker of the House, said Rhoden will serve as a “rock steady hand” to navigate the leadership transition. South Dakotans will see a “genuine” man and leader in the coming years who will listen, collaborate and use humor when necessary, Rave said.
Dan Ahlers, executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, formerly served with Rhoden in the Legislature. Ahlers remembers Rhoden as a “firebrand” from his early years as a legislator, but said Rhoden has matured into someone who will be more “attentive” to the state than his predecessor.
“I think Larry is more focused on South Dakota,” Ahlers said. “What we’ve seen with Noem throughout her career is, ‘What is the next step? What’s the next and next and next?’”
Aberdeen Republican Rep. Al Novstrup, who has served in the Legislature since 2003, said Rhoden will bring the same sincere, honest and competent leadership to the governor’s office that he embodied during their time together in the Legislature.
“Over the years, we’ve had a lot of contentious issues. Larry has always been able to reach compromises that treat everybody fairly,” Novstrup said. “He’s always respectful to people he disagrees with. He’s got South Dakota integrity.”
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