Hansen and Lems prepare to run as team for governor

Yahoo

22-04-2025

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — On Thursday, two South Dakota lawmakers are expected to announce they are seeking the Republican nominations for governor and lieutenant governor that voters will decide in June 2026.
Rep. Jon Hansen and Rep. Karla Lems would be the first to officially enter the race. Hansen and Lems have placed an identical post on their Facebook pages, with a 'Stronger Together' slogan, inviting the public to a 6 p.m. event at the Military Heritage Alliance building in Sioux Falls.
Hansen is a Dell Rapids lawyer. During his 10 years in the South Dakota House of Representatives, here's what he has focused on:
Restricting abortion.
Opposing surrogate pregnancies.
Blocking carbon dioxide pipelines.
Steering state funds to non-public K-12 education.
And changing state election laws.
Hansen was prime sponsor of a Republican-led effort by the Legislature in 2022 to make it more difficult for voters to amend the South Dakota Constitution, as well as to pass or stop state laws, if the proposal sought to raise taxes or impose a new tax. Republican lawmakers supported his proposal that sought to raise the threshold to 60%. It also would have required 60% of the proposal obligated state government to appropriate $10 million or more in any of the first five fiscal years.
Opponents criticized Hansen's effort as an attempt to give the Legislature more power. He wrote the pro-side on the ballot-measure pamphlet. Voters however overwhelmingly rejected the proposed change.
Hansen, vice president of South Dakota Right to Life, most recently led the 2024 campaign that defeated a proposed amendment seeking to add abortion rights to the South Dakota Constitution. The vote was 176,809 yes and 250,136 no.
He also has been an active voice against CO2 pipelines. In 2023, Hansen sponsored legislation that sought to ban CO2 projects from using eminent domain to force their way across properties. The House passed it, but a Senate committee defeated it.
Hansen also debated Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, vice president of government and public affairs for Navigator CO2, one of the companies that was seeking to construct a pipeline to several ethanol producers in southeastern South Dakota. The state Public Utilities Commission ultimately denied Navigator's application.
Hansen has been involved in some statehouse leadership intrigue, too. In 2021, House members chose him as the chamber's speaker pro tem, making him the No. 2 presiding officer. Traditionally, the speaker pro tem rises to House speaker during the following two-year term. But in Hansen's case, that process was interrupted.
House members instead chose Rep. Hugh Bartels over Hansen as speaker for the 2023-24 term. Hansen didn't allow the setback to stop him. With new members-elect supporting him, he ran for speaker again after the 2024 elections and was chosen as the chamber's top officer for the 2025-26 term.
House members also chose Lems as speaker pro tem for the 2025-26 term. She is the first woman in South Dakota history to hold the post. Only one woman, Debra Anderson, has ever served as speaker for the South Dakota House, and that was nearly 40 years ago.
Lems, a Canton agri-business and farm owner, has served three years in the House. She was prime sponsor this year of a new law that, starting July 1, bans CO2 projects from using eminent domain to force their way across properties. The ban forced Summit Carbon Solutions to ask the state Public Utilities Commission for an indefinite hold on its CO2 route application.
Lems especially was active last year in forcing a statewide referendum on legislation that would have changed how the Public Utilities Commission permitted transmission projects such as pipelines, by saying a PUC permit for a project would override any local regulations. Voters ultimately rejected SB 201 statewide, 165,682 yes and 242,459 no, defeating it in 65 of South Dakota's 66 counties.
There was another effect — political — from SB 201. Enough of the legislators who voted yes in the House and in the Senate for the final version suffered defeats in the 2024 primaries (or they didn't seek re-election) that majorities of anti-CO2 pipeline candidates won election to both chambers of the Legislature. That opened the way for Hansen and Lems to be chosen as House speaker and speaker pro tem.
As of Monday night, neither Hansen nor Lems had filed paperwork for statewide campaign committees. However, their Facebook announcement post says their Thursday evening event is sponsored by The People First political action committee.
A public record shows the PAC was organized in March by former Rep. Randy Gross, a Republican lawmaker who represented the same district as Hansen. The PAC's stated purpose: 'To promote and support conservative candidates who put the people of South Dakota first.'
The Legislature this year changed the process for choosing lieutenant governors. In the past, political parties nominated candidates for lieutenant governors at their summer statewide conventions, even though state law has each set of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor on the November ballot as a team. The new law allows candidates for governor to choose their running mates.
This team approach isn't a first, however. Former Gov. Bill Janklow, for example, in seeking a third term in 1994, announced that then-Rep. Carole Hillard of Rapid City would be his running mate. It was a way to counter the West River strength of then-Gov. Walter Dale Miller, whose lieutenant governor was Steve Kirby of Sioux Falls. Miller had been lieutenant governor until the death of Gov. George S. Mickelson in a 1993 plane crash. Former Gov. Janklow went on to defeat sitting Gov. Miller in the Republican primary election.
While Hansen is presumed to be the first candidate to officially be entering the 2026 race for governor, a potential candidate is the current governor, Republican Larry Rhoden. In January, Rhoden officially changed the designation of his campaign fundraising committee from lieutenant governor to governor. That came after Rhoden ascended from lieutenant governor to governor, following the resignation of former Gov. Kristi Noem earlier in January.
Rhoden hasn't yet publicly declared whether he will be a candidate for governor on his own in 2026, saying he's receiving encouragement to run while still gauging potential support. He chose Tony Venhuizen, a Republican lawmaker from Sioux Falls, to serve as his lieutenant governor.
Here's a look at the legislation sponsored by Hansen and Lems during their time in the South Dakota House of Representatives.2025 – Prime sponsor of 2 House bills, 1 House resolution.
HB 1184 — amend the deadline for filing a petition to initiate a measure or constitutional amendment. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/26001
HB 1256 — require the inclusion of certain information on a candidate's nominating petition or on a ballot question petition. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/26143
HCR 6003 — To provide for an interim study regarding property tax reduction and preservation of the American dream to own a home. Passed both chambers; because it was a resolution, the governor didn't have a direct role. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/26086
2024 – Prime sponsor of 5 House bills; lead House sponsor of 3 Senate bills.
HB 1005 — revise the manner of citing the Administrative Rules of South Dakota (at the request of the Interim Committee on Rules Review.) Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24483
HB 1006 — increase the amount of time permitted the Interim Rules Review Committee to review final permanent rulemaking materials (at the request of the Interim Committee on Rules Review.) Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24520
HB 1158 — limit reliance upon secondary sources as statements of law. Passed House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25166
HB 1219 — prohibit the exercise of eminent domain for the construction of pipelines carrying carbon oxide. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25214
HB 1244 — provide a process to withdraw a signature from a petition for an initiated measure, constitutional amendment, or a referendum on a law in certain situations and to declare an emergency. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24649
SB 72 — increase the annual limit of tax credits that an insurance company may claim through the partners in education tax credit program. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24899
SB 75 — modify provisions pertaining to the designation of a legal newspaper. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24572
SB 94 — amend provisions pertaining to the partners in education tax credit program. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25060
SJR 509 — Applying to the United States Congress under Article V of the United States Constitution to call for a convention for proposing an amendment to the constitution establishing congressional term limits. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25208
2023 – Prime sponsor of 4 House bills; lead House sponsor of 3 Senate bills.
HB 1161 — provide staffing ratios for day care providers. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24258
HB 1163 — prohibit the dissemination of obscene material to minors in a public school or public library. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24265
HB 1234 — provide a voucher for students enrolled in certain grade levels at accredited nonpublic schools. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24220
HB 1235 — provide a conscience exemption from a COVID-19 vaccination. Failed on House floor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24348
SB 60 — make an appropriation for completing improvements of the road leading to the former entrance into Palisades State Park and to declare an emergency. Failed in Senate Committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23678
SB 192 — provide liability for the publishing or distributing of material harmful to minors on the internet and the wrongful retention of individually identifiable information. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24277
2022 – Prime sponsor of 5 House bills; lead House sponsor of 4 Senate bills.
HB 1207 — clarify standards for the consideration of open enrollment applications. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22946
HB 1217 — expand criminal provisions regarding the protection of minors from certain forms of sexual exploitation. Withdrawn by sponsor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23328
HB 1218 — revise the definition of abused or neglected child to include minors subject to human trafficking. Withdrawn by sponsor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23329
HB 1220 — establish a safe harbor for child survivors of certain forms of human trafficking. Withdrawn by sponsor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23330
HB 1221 — require training on human trafficking for law enforcement officers. Withdrawn by sponsor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23331
SB 71 — revise certain provisions related to the partners in education tax credit program. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22594
SB 182 — prohibit discriminatory actions against persons engaged with the firearm industry. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23259
SB 195 — establish the burden of proof after a claim of immunity. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/23466
SB 210 — provide for the establishment of education savings accounts. Withdrawn by sponsor (Sen. Jessica Castleberry); never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22924
2021 – Prime sponsor of 6 House bills and 1 House resolution; lead House sponsor of four Senate bills.
HB 1114 — provide a definition of abortion. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22210
HB 1120 — establish a website for the posting of notices for certain local governments. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22222
HB 1161 — update certain provisions regarding pregnancy help center consultations. Withdrawn by sponsor (Hansen.) https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22354
HB 1247 — provide for the protection of the consciences of medical professionals. Failed in House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22444
HB 1248 — require reports regarding the intentional disposal, destruction, or other disposition of human embryos. Passed by House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22432
HB 1249 — revise fiscal note requirements for initiative and initiated amendments. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22429
HJR 5003 — Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next primary election a new section to Article XI of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to a three-fifths vote requirement for certain initiated or Legislature-proposed constitutional amendments and initiated or Legislature-referred measures. Passed both chambers; because it was a resolution, governor had no direct role. Voters rejected it at June 2022 primary: 59,125 voted yes; 122,417 voted no. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22243
SB 72 — revise notification requirements for listing and delisting species on the threatened and endangered species list. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/21983
SB 124 — provide protections for the exercise of religious freedom. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22127
SB 175 — remove certain eligibility requirements for the partners in education tax credit program. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/22268
SB 183 — declare certain contract provisions regarding abortion as unenforceable and to provide a penalty therefor. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/21911
2020 – Prime sponsor of 6 House bills and 1 House resolution; lead House sponsor of four Senate bills.
HB 1068 — include out-of-state convictions for the basis of an enhanced penalty for the crime of stalking. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10423
HB 1096 — prohibit commercial surrogacy contracts, provide a penalty for facilitating a commercial surrogacy, and establish an interim committee to evaluate surrogacy in the state. Passed House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10411
HB 1098 — authorize certain off-sale licenses for certain entities and to declare an emergency. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/11845
HB 1173 — prohibit a school board from denying an application for open enrollment from certain students with autism. Failed in House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10315
HB 1179 — authorize series limited liability companies. Passed both chambers, signed into law governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/11639
HCR 6020 — Denouncing the National Education Association's recent policy to support 'the fundamental right to abortion.' Passed both chambers; because it was a resolution, governor had no direct role. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/11979
SB 109 — provide protections for health care decisions governed by conscience. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/11951
SB 147 — prohibit collective bargaining by certain employees of the Board of Regents. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/11986
SB 176 — provide for the seizure and holding of real property as evidence. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10255
SB 180 — repeal and revise certain provisions regarding the petition circulation process. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/12123
2019 – Prime sponsor of 6 House bills and 1 House resolution; lead House sponsor of 4 Senate bills.
HB 1074 — provide a privilege for journalists and newscasters regarding refusal to disclose information. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9859
HB 1093 — establish legal standards applicable to petition challenges. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9983
HB 1094 — revise certain programs regarding transparency of the petition circulation process. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9982
HB 1192 — authorize the consumption of alcohol in certain common areas. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10071
HB 1193 — provide a criminal penalty for causing an abortion against a pregnant mother's will. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9682
HB 1196 — provide a definition of blockchain technology for certain purposes. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10020
HR 1003 — Denouncing the recent passage of New York's abortion law and requesting that the Governor declare a day of prayer and fasting to atone for the unspeakable crime of abortion. Passed in House; because it was a House-only resolution, the Senate didn't consider it. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9842
SB 51 — revise certain provisions regarding trusts. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9496
SB 78 — exempt certain medical providers from licensure. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9373
SB 96 — expand application of the tax credit for contributions to a scholarship granting organization. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/9882
SB 166 — revise certain provisions regarding occupational licensing. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/10088
2013 – Prime sponsor of 3 House bills.
HB 1235 — continue the Regional Watershed Advisory Task Force under the supervision of the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council in a manner to save public financial resources. Passed in House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/4433
HB 1236 — prohibit the recovery of damages in certain wrongful birth and wrongful life civil suits based upon the lost opportunity to terminate the life of an unborn child. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/4354
HB 1237 — revise certain provisions to abortion counseling. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/4352
2012 – Prime sponsor of 6 House bills and 1 House resolution; lead House sponsor of two Senate bills.
HB 1112 — prohibit any person who fails to file certain campaign finance documents to be a candidate for office. Failed in House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3112
HB 1113 — prohibit the use of certain public resources to influence the outcome of elections. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3027
HB 1114 — amend provision limiting the time used to determine if a violation is a third or subsequent offense. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3522
HB 1158 — allow students attending nonpublic high schools to be eligible for the jump start scholarship program. Passed House, failed in Senate Appropriations Committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3151
HB 1185 — prohibit all qualified health plans offered through a health care exchange from including abortion coverage. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3615
HB 1274 — revise the distance within which a school district may charge a fee for providing bus transportation to students. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3672
HCR 1010 — Urging Congress to adopt a proposed constitutional amendment limiting federal legislation to a single subject. Passed both chambers; because it was a resolution, the governor had no direct role. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3613
SB 164 — require public school students in grade eleven to take certain assessments. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3669
SB 172 — toll any conviction for operation of a boat while under the influence when calculating the number of offenses for enhancement of a driving under the influence charge. Failed in Senate committee; never reached House. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/3148
2011 – Prime sponsor of 1 House bill.
HB 1104 — revise the deadline for withdrawing from a primary election. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/2640Prime sponsor of 3 House bills and 1 House resolution.
HB 1052 — prohibit the exercise of eminent domain for a pipeline that carries carbon oxide. Passed both chambers, signed into law by governor. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25581
HB 1190 — require an ownership disclosure for any non-individual entity that exercises eminent domain. Withdrawn by sponsor (Lems.) https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25913
HB 1191 — subject advertising services to a gross receipts tax, and to allocate proceeds to property tax relief. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25876
HJR 5006 — Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election amendments to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, requiring an intervening general election before consideration of an initiated constitutional amendment or initiated measure having the same subject as a previously rejected initiated amendment or measure. Passed in House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25567
2024 – Prime sponsor of 3 House bills.
HB 1203 — clarify references to the court in a condemnation proceeding. Passed House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25257
HB 1241 — modify the amount of time allowed to an employee to vote at any election in this state. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25294
HB 1243 — extend deadlines for action by the Public Utilities Commission upon the request of any party. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25293
2023 – Prime sponsor of 5 House bills.
HB 1084 — grant a common carrier the right of eminent domain for public use. Withdrawn by sponsor (Lems). https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24135
HB 1133 — define a commodity for the purpose of qualifying as a common carrier. Passed House, failed in Senate committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24090
HB 1188 — provide for property owner inclusion in the pipeline siting application and condemnation process. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24091
HB 1224 — require verification of landowner permission prior to certain pipeline permitting actions. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24338
HB 1232 — revise provisions related to residency for voter registration. Failed in House committee. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24344
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