South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson was the early favorite in the state’s gubernatorial race, but in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary, a poll found his edge eroding.
The four-term Republican wound up finishing third, behind Gov. Larry Rhoden, who filled the vacancy left by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and businessman Toby Doeden, a self-proclaimed “total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises.” Both Rhoden and Doeden secured a place on the July 28 runoff ballot.
“It has been the honor of my lifetime to represent South Dakota in Congress these past eight years,” Johnson said in a statement. “While I am disappointed in the outcome, I am committed to helping Republican candidates get elected in November.”
Johnson isn’t the only House Republican from a safe red district who has stumbled in his quest to win higher office this cycle.
In Iowa Tuesday, Rep. Randy Feenstra lost the gubernatorial primary to farmer Zach Lahn, a political outsider who ran on a “Make America Healthy Again” platform and an “Iowa first” approach to governing. Even an 11th-hour endorsement from President Donald Trump wasn’t enough to pull Feenstra across the finish line.
