Fact brief: Can Gov. Larry Rhoden run again in 2030 if he wins election this fall?

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden can run for another four-year term in 2030 if he wins election during the 2026 midterms.

Both a governor and lieutenant governor cannot be elected to more than two consecutive elected terms, starting with the 1974 election, according to the state Constitution.

Rhoden was promoted to governor from lieutenant governor on Jan. 27, 2025, after Gov. Kristi Noem became the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Because the constitutional limit applies to being elected governor, Rhoden’s 2026 election would be his first elected term as governor.

Bill Janklow served four total terms as governor, but they weren’t consecutive. The first two terms were from 1979-1987 and the second was from 1995-2003. 

The last person to become governor without being elected to the position was Walter Miller, who was George S. Mickelson’s lieutenant governor when Mickelson and seven others died in a 1993 plane crash.