Johnson Finishes Third in South Dakota GOP Primary — House Members Losing Elections
Rep. Dusty Johnson finished third in South Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial primary, putting him into the pattern of house members losing elections after leaving Congress for statewide races. He did not advance to the runoff primary, which will now pit incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden against businessman Toby Doeden.
South Dakota GOP runoff
Rhoden advanced this week after being elevated to the governor’s office when Kristi Noem joined the White House Cabinet. Johnson entered the race as an early front-runner, but the third-place finish left him out of the next round.
The result also extends a broader run of failed statewide bids by current House members. Johnson joined Republicans Wesley Hunt, Chip Roy, Buddy Carter and Randy Feenstra, along with Democrats Jasmine Crockett, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, in falling short in party primaries after giving up their seats.
Johnson and the House pattern
Steve Benen framed the roundup as “Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.” In the South Dakota item, he wrote, “As Roll Call reported, he joined a growing group of incumbent members of Congress who gave up their seats to seek statewide office, only to fall short in party primaries.”
For Johnson, the immediate consequence is clear: he is out of the gubernatorial runoff, while Rhoden and Doeden move on. For House members eyeing statewide office, the South Dakota result adds another example of how hard it has been to turn a House seat into a primary victory elsewhere.
The next step in South Dakota belongs to the runoff between Rhoden and Doeden, with Johnson’s campaign now reduced to the record of a third-place finish in the Republican primary.
