2026 midterms · Candidate
Republican · Candidate · Governor of South Dakota · Incumbent
In the bottom tenth of Republican candidates for governor (their average is 12%; Rhoden ranks 37th of 39, where 1st is the highest rate), from 303 statements.
An AI model reads each of Rhoden’s posts on X and marks whether each criticizes a specific policy, law or ruling; the rate is the share marked.
What Rhoden says
1.3% of Rhoden’s statements criticize a policy, in the bottom tenth of Republican candidates for governor. Their average is 12%.
An AI model reads Rhoden’s posts on X and marks five kinds of statement; the rate is the share of statements with each label. The thin grey bar is the average of the 39 Republican candidates for governor with 50 or more statements, and the rank places Rhoden among them (1st is the highest rate). A rate describes what was said, not whether it was right.
How often does Rhoden make each kind of statement?
Share of statements: Rhoden (thick bar) against the Republican candidates for governor average (thin grey bar)
Show the data
| Row | Rhoden | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.7% | 3.3% |
| Policy criticism | 1.3% | 12% |
| Policy discussion | 34% | 44% |
| Bipartisanship | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Credit claiming | 42% | 18% |
statements classified
From their posts on X.
Awards
- Accomplishments LeaderTop 3% in credit claiming among all ranked candidates, the lab’s rule.
- Least Policy-CriticalBottom 3% in policy criticism among all ranked candidates, the lab’s rule.
This compares Rhoden with other candidates. Rhoden’s official profile compares Rhoden with fellow office-holders and has every statement, vote and bill.
The five kinds of statement
Personal attacks. Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Policy criticism. Objects to a specific policy, law or court ruling with fact-based arguments, without personal attacks or emotional appeals.
Policy discussion. Discusses a specific public policy or policy area (health care, taxes, defense, …).
Bipartisanship. Emphasises working across the aisle, compromise or common ground between the parties.
Credit claiming. Claims credit for passing legislation, securing funding or grants, or other accomplishments in office.
Money
Candidates for governor report to their state, not to the Federal Election Commission.
No campaign-finance figures are on file for candidates for governor.
Online
Rhoden’s posts on X from Feb 19, 2025 to Oct 26, 2026. Followers and the average likes and views per post, from the posts the lab has collected.
Engagement is what X reports for each collected post, averaged; it measures reach, not support.
Followers
Likes per post
Views per post
The race
South Dakota Governor: Rhoden advanced from the primary. Primary Jun 2, 2026, runoff Jun 23, 2026. General election Nov 3, 2026.
Rated solid republican. Cook Political Report ratings, entered by the lab (last updated by the lab on Jun 24, 2026); a forecaster’s judgement about the general election, not the lab’s.
Who else is on the list?
Candidates recorded as advancing from the primary
- Dan AhlersDChallenger · advanced
- Toby DoedenRChallenger · advanced
The race page compares every candidate’s statements and money · every race in South Dakota
Methods and sources
The headline. Each candidate’s headline is chosen by one rule for everyone. The peer group is the ranked candidates (50 or more statements) of the same party, for the same office and measured on the same record, widened to both parties when it has fewer than 10. Each kind of statement is scored by how far the candidate sits from the middle of the group (|percentile − 0.5|, ties counting half); the farthest leads if it is outside the middle half (above 0.25), scores within 0.03 tie and fall to a fixed order, and a high rate backed by fewer than 10 labelled statements cannot lead. Otherwise the headline is a plain count.
The statements. This candidate is measured on the posts on X the lab collects for the campaign. An AI model marks each statement for five kinds of statement; rates are shown from 10 statements and ranked from 50.
The race. Candidates come from FEC filings (House and Senate), the lab’s list of sitting members of Congress, and the lab’s list of candidates for governor. The lab records each primary’s result once it is official. House districts follow FEC filings; a sitting member is placed in the race for the seat they hold now.
Identifiers. The lab’s governor id SD-larry-rhoden.
Money and reach. Campaign money is as reported to the FEC. Followers, likes and views are what X reports for the posts the lab collected, the latest from Oct 26, 2026.