SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's lone member of the U.S. House, Republican Dusty Johnson, announced Monday that he will run for governor next year, potentially facing off against the incumbent governor.
“We have challenges, but our state has the foundation, the work ethic and the values we need to become even better,” he said at a Sioux Falls hotel, citing priorities of cutting property taxes, combating drugs and addiction and making college and tech schools more affordable.
Johnson has served as South Dakota’s only congressman since 2019, succeeding Kristi Noem's congressional tenure. He will have served eight years in the House at the end of his current term.
He has a largely conservative voting record and opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified the Supreme Court's federal recognition of gay marriage.
However, he sometimes joined a minority of Republicans in voting against President Donald Trump, including when he voted to override Trump’s veto of a measure that revoked his declaration of an emergency at the southern border. He was later one of 35 House Republicans who voted to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
“The U.S. House can be frustrating, but let’s be honest, being governor of South Dakota is going to be frustrating sometimes, too,” Johnson said. “That’s just the nature of the beast.”
“This is not an easy area to serve,” he said. “Our country, our state, we face real problems.”
He told supporters that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump look to him “to help bridge the divide of a rowdy and colorful Republican House.”
Now the 48-year-old aims to become the first elected governor since Noem, who used her time in Pierre to build a national profile and draw attention to the small-population Midwest state. Noem has since become Trump's secretary of Homeland Security, leaving her position in January which was filled by the current governor, Larry Rhoden.
Johnson is entering what could be a crowded Republican primary next June, competing against state Rep. Jon Hansen, an Aberdeen businessman who championed a landowner movement against a carbon capture pipeline. Johnson may also be challenged by Rhoden, though the latter has not yet announced a gubernatorial campaign. No Democrats have announced plans to run for governor, a post that Republicans have held since 1979.
Rhoden, a rancher who was Noem's lieutenant governor for six years, became governor in January during the state's legislative session. He has been traveling South Dakota visiting towns and businesses and touting economic development, with plans to visit Lemmon on Monday.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced plans to seek Johnson's congressional seat.
Johnson first entered public office when he was elected to be a public utilities commissioner in 2004 and became the youngest commissioner in the nation at age 28. He later served as chief of staff for South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
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Associated Press reporter Jack Dura contributed from Bismarck, North Dakota.
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