South Dakota Governor 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them
Larry Rhoden (Republican) and Dan Ahlers (Democrat) are the candidates for governor of South Dakota in the November 3, 2026 general election. Larry Rhoden is the incumbent. Semblen has analyzed 2 ads in this race; 1 used at least one manipulation technique, most often name calling and loaded language.
Larry Rhoden (REP, incumbent), Dan Ahlers (DEM).
On the ballot as listed by South Dakota Secretary of State, 2026 General Election Candidate List. 2 ads analyzed, 1 with at least one technique in the copy.
Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing. Updated 2026-10-08.
An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
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Money in this race
Candidates for governor report their fundraising to South Dakota's state campaign-finance office, not the FEC. This page doesn't cover those reports yet, so it shows no money figures.
The ads
2 ads, newest first.
Paid for by Toby Doeden for South Dakotafrom 2026-09-19 to 2026-09-25spend $400–49925,000–29,999 impressions
Outgoing Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson has officially endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis in the upcoming November general election. These were the first thoughts that popped into my head.
1. Who cares what Monae Johnson thinks?
2. She is basically a Democrat anyway, so this isn't really a surprise.
3. She is a sore loser who can't swallow her pride and support Heather Baxter who soundly defeated her at the GOP Convention earlier this year.
This situation is similar to the aftermath of the June 2nd Gubernatorial primary election.
Dusty Johnson lost. He swallowed his pride and supported the 'establishment' candidate Larry Rhoden.
Jon Hansen lost. He called me and told me he was endorsing me and would support me 100%. That was a lie. Instead, he wallowed in pity for weeks and not only refused to support me, but he also worked tirelessly behind the scenes to sabotage my race vs. Larry.
Point is this. Monae isn't a conservative republican, and Jon Hansen isn't and never was a 'grassroots' politician.
They only care about themselves and their political cravings.
Happy Saturday Everyone!
Name Calling: The rhetorical question dismisses Monae Johnson entirely, functioning as a derogatory label that discredits her without addressing any argument — for example: Who cares what Monae Johnson thinks?, She is basically a Democrat anyway and sore loser who can't swallow her pride.
Loaded Language: Emotionally charged words are used to paint the subject in a deeply negative light rather than neutrally describe his actions — for example: 'wallowed in pity' and 'sabotage'
Conspiracy Appeal: The phrase 'behind the scenes' implies hidden, covert coordination to undermine the speaker, suggesting a secretive sinister plot — for example: 'worked tirelessly behind the scenes to sabotage'
Name Calling
Loaded Language
Conspiracy Appeal
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
An ad is on this page because its own "Paid for by" line is a campaign in this race; or it ran mostly in SD and names a nominee for governor — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office (a U.S. Senate or House campaign included), or it also names SD's Senate nominees, in which case it is on the Senate race's page. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
The candidates are the ones certified for the November ballot, from the source linked at the top. Governors are state offices, so there are no FEC filings behind this page: no money figures, and outside groups are placed on a side only when they are a campaign or a party committee.
Campaigns run one text as many separate ads. Identical text from the same sponsor is one card here, marked with its number of variants.
A technique is a specific manipulative move in the wording, found by our model and explained in one line. It is not a claim that the ad is false.
Claims are checked when a reader asks: press "Check this ad's claims" on a card. The check runs once and its result is shown to everyone afterwards. The ten ads with the most money behind them in each race are checked ahead of time.
Claim verdicts say what the cited sources say. A verdict that an ad is wrong or misleading is shown only when it cites an established fact-checker or an institutional record — Congress, a federal agency, a court — and its confidence is not low; a weaker one is not shown at all. Each verdict shows what it rests on and how confident it is. If we got one wrong, press Disagree: a verdict that readers dispute and no one defends comes down.
Video ads come from the campaigns' own YouTube channels; the transcript is analyzed. Meta ads are analyzed on their text; their video and images are not, yet.
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