Toby Doeden, Aberdeen businessman, files for South Dakota governor
A second expected entrant to South Dakota's distant gubernatorial race has filed with the state.
Aberdeen businessman and conservative activist Toby Doeden filed a statement of organization for "Toby Doeden for South Dakota," a statewide gubernatorial candidate committee established on May 22, according to the South Dakota Secretary of State's website.
Doeden has scheduled an event at 5 p.m. CDT, May 28, at Wylie Park Pavilion in Aberdeen. He is expected to publicly announce his campaign for the governor nomination there.
Jessica Post, general manager of 5-Star Management LLC, an Aberdeen property management company, is listed as committee treasurer. Doeden is the president of Doeden Investment Group, an investment firm, which includes Post on its staff page.
Doeden is the chair of Dakota First Action, a statewide political action committee that boosted populist and anti-carbon pipeline candidates into the state legislature in 2024.
Doeden has never held a political office, and he refers to himself as a "successful businessman, a bold conservative, and a dedicated family man" on his website.
Politically, Doeden presents a conservative option that aligns with President Donald Trump's "America First" policies and sits farther to the right than other prominent South Dakota's Republicans, like Gov. Larry Rhoden and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, both of whom are anticipated to run for governor but have yet to publicly announce campaigns.
Doeden would be the second to enter South Dakota's contest for the job after state House Speaker Jon Hansen, who announced his run for governor along with Speaker Pro Tempore Karla Lems as lieutenant governor in April.
Doeden's PAC entered hot water with the state's Republican establishment in October 2024 when he refused to cancel a speaking engagement with then-Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina at a Dakota First Action gala event. Robinson was accused of writing several controversial statements on an online board in the 2000s, including calling himself a "black NAZI," CNN reported.
More: Mark Robinson drops speaking slot at SD fundraiser to help with hurricane recovery amid scandal
Robinson later dropped the speaking engagement of his own accord and provided a pre-recorded video in order to assist in North Carolina's disaster response following 2024's Hurricane Helene. He later dropped a lawsuit against the network for its reporting.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Aberdeen's Toby Doeden joins race for South Dakota governor
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