The poll shows that there are clearly two front-runners in the four-way race with Johnson and Rhoden, but Doeden and Hansen have gained support

It is too early to guess which way the 36 percent of undecided voters will shift, but South Dakota's attorney general has a commanding lead seven months before the GOP primary election in June 2026.

Uncertainty remains over how much financial backing Rhoden can generate in a race that could set spending records in South Dakota politics. Both Doeden and Johnson are expected to have the ability to spend in excess of $10 million to get their names on the November ballot.

The race for South Dakota’s GOP nomination in the 2026 gubernatorial contest is underway. However, candidates Toby Doeden, Jon Hansen and Dusty Johnson don’t need to turn in their first campaign finance report until January 2026.

In South Dakota, businesses are fleeing fractious populist politics. In North Dakota, traditional Republicans are holding the line, and profiting from it. Will it last?