Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden, left, and South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden are candidates in a July 28 runoff for the Republican nomination for governor. (Photos by South Dakota Searchlight)

Searchlight Report is a podcast from South Dakota Searchlight. Reporter and host Meghan O’Brien works with other Searchlight journalists to take listeners inside politics and policy in The Mount Rushmore State.

 

Republican political commentator Pat Powers has been writing about South Dakota campaigns for more than 20 years on his South Dakota War College blog. He joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to break down what he calls “the fatal error” in the race for the Republican nomination for governor.

After four Republicans sought their party’s nomination, none succeeded in getting the 35% needed to win outright. Instead, the top two candidates — Gov. Larry Rhoden and businessman Toby Doeden — will face each other in the state’s first runoff election for a statewide office.

Advance voting for the runoff is underway, voter registration is open until July 13 and the runoff election is July 28. The winner will face Democrat Dan Ahlers in November.

To learn more about the remaining two Republican candidates, check out Searchlight Report’s prior interviews with Rhoden and Doeden.

Click here to access a transcript for this week’s episode.