Larry Rhoden

Larry Rhoden (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician, serving as the 39th and current lieutenant governor of South Dakota. A Republican, he previously served in both houses of the South Dakota Legislature.

Larry Rhoden
39th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
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
Sturgis, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1978–1985
UnitSouth Dakota National Guard

Early life

Rhoden graduated from Sunshine Bible Academy in 1977 and served in the South Dakota National Guard from 1978 to 1985. Rhoden is a rancher by trade.[2][3]

Career

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.[4]

Rhoden served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee and the State Affairs committee.[5] 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."[4]

2014 U.S. Senate candidacy
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."[6] Rhoden signed a pledge to never raise taxes, and supports de-funding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[7] Rhoden spoke at a conference organized by the conservative organization RedState, criticizing fellow candidate Mike Rounds's position on taxes.[8] Rounds defeated Rhoden by a margin of 41,377 to 13,393 in the June 2, 2014 primary.[9]

2018 gubernatorial election
Main article: 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election

Lieutenant governor

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."[10]

Tenure

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. [11]

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.[12]

Personal life

Rhoden lives in Union Center, South Dakota. He and his wife, Sandy, have four children.[13]

References
  1. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=503989
  2. https://ballotpedia.org/Larry_Rhoden
  3. 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.
  4. Montgomery, David (July 9, 2013). "Who is Larry Rhoden?". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  5. "Senator Larry Rhoden". South Dakota Legislature. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  6. Montgomery, David (July 10, 2013). "Rhoden strikes conservative tone in campaign kickoff". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  7. Montgomery, David (July 30, 2013). "Senate hopeful Larry Rhoden says his hard line aligns with right". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  8. Montgomery, David (August 2, 2013). "Rhoden: Stand by your position". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  9. "2014 Election Results" (PDF). sdsos.gov. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  10. 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.
  11. "Noem Appoints Lt. Gov as Interim Ag Secretary". SDPB.org. South Dakota Public Broadcasting. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  12. "Convention Results". southdakotagopconvention.com. June 20, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  13. "Senator Larry R. Rhoden". VoteSmart. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
Matt Michels		 Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
2019–present		 Incumbent
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