The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem, a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 5, 2019.
The South Dakota Board of Regents is a governing board that controls six public universities in the U.S. state of South Dakota. These include Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, and the University of South Dakota. The Board also governs the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the South Dakota School for the Deaf.
The structure of the government of South Dakota is based on that of the federal government, with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The structure of the state government is laid out in the Constitution of South Dakota, the highest law in the state. The constitution may be amended either by a majority vote of both houses of the legislature, or by voter initiative.
David L. Knudson is an American lawyer, former Majority Leader of the South Dakota Senate, and a member of the Republican Party.
Scott Donald Munsterman is a former mayor of Brookings, South Dakota. Munsterman sought the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota in the South Dakota gubernatorial election in 2010. In a Republican primary election on June 8, 2010, Munsterman came in second to Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Munsterman received 17.6% or 14,733 of the 83,832 ballots cast, approximately one third of the 50% received by Daugaard.
The 2010 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who run on a statewide ballot. On June 8, 2010, the Republicans nominated Kristi Noem, Assistant Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives and the Democrats nominated the incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. B. Thomas Marking ran as an Independent candidate. In the general election, Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin, winning 48.1 percent of the vote to 45.9 percent for Herseth Sandlin.
Brendan Van Johnson is an American attorney who served as the 40th United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. He is the son of former U.S. Senator Tim Johnson and currently is a partner at Robins Kaplan LLP, where he serves as the Chair of the Firm's National Business Litigation Group and Member of the Firm's Executive Board. In 2024, Johnson was recognized as one of America's Top 200 Lawyers for his litigation work and representation of Native American tribes.
The 2014 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, concurrently with the election of South Dakota's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Larry Rhoden is an American politician and businessman serving as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota since 2019.
Martin J. Jackley is an American attorney and politician who is currently serving as the Attorney General of South Dakota since 2023, having previously served from 2009 to 2019. He assumed office as Attorney General again in 2023 after winning the 2022 election unopposed. He previously served as the 39th United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of South Dakota in 2018, losing the Republican primary to Kristi Noem.
Gregory J. Stoltenburg is an American lawyer, veteran, and current presiding judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in South Dakota.
The 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of South Dakota. Incumbent Republican governor Dennis Daugaard was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota was held on November 6, to elect the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with other statewide, legislative, and local elections.
The 2018 South Dakota elections were held on November 6, 2018. All of South Dakota's executive officers were up for election as well as South Dakota's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives.
Dustin Michael Johnson is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner from 2005 to 2011, when he was appointed chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard, a position he held until 2014. Between his state political career and congressional service, Johnson was the vice president of Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Mark E. Salter is an American attorney, veteran, and current Associate Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Dennis Daugaard in 2018. He became the 51st member of the court.
Patricia J. DeVaney is an associate justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Kristi Noem in 2019. She became the 52nd member of the court, succeeding the seat vacated by the death of Justice Steven L. Zinter.
Jon Hansen serves as a representative for the 25th Legislative District in the South Dakota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he formerly served as the Speaker pro tempore of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Marty Overweg is an American politician and businessman serving as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 19th district. A member of the Republican Party, Overweg assumed office on January 6, 2020 after being nominated by Governor Kristi Noem to succeed Kyle Schoenfish, who was appointed to the State Senate.
Harold C. Frazier is an American politician and tribal leader who is the former chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, serving in that position since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Frazier serves concurrently as the chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, a position he was elected to in 2018.
