Rick Knobe says he’s qualified but too old and too Sioux Falls to run for Governor:
I’m from Sioux Falls. Nobody from Sioux Falls has won the governorship. I’ve been here over 50 years. I did not attend school in South Dakota. No alma mater. No classmates.
And in some people’s minds, I’m old. Not sure how you feel about the number 78. That’s my current number. If I ran and was elected, I would be 80 when sworn in.
Based on recent history and current events, it’s clear being 80 is probably a deal-breaker. And should be.
Ok, I’m done now. This would be my platform — if I were running for governor [Rick Knobe, “I Am Qualified for Governor of Our State and I Am Ready to Serve. Here’s What I Would Do,” South Dakota Standard, 2025.09.04].
(And Spencer Gosch frets that Sioux Falls has too much pull? Sheesh!)
But were the man who mayored Sioux Falls from 1974 to 1984 to run to run South Dakota, I’d vault him to the top of my list for his promise to protect initiative and referendum:
We need to stop making it harder for people to vote. It should be easy to participate. The state motto: “Under God, the people rule,” is being abused, constantly making it harder to refer or initiate laws. That needs to stop. I would work against and veto bills getting between you and democracy. If necessary, I will use the power of the office — the bully pulpit — to help citizens refer bad laws and initiate good ones [Knobe, 2025.09.04].
That’s no idle promise: Knobe has publicly advocated for initiative and referendum rights as a necessary check on an unresponsive, anti-democratic Legislature.
Age be darned—Knobe, who spent much of his non-mayoral career talking policy on the radio, would have no problem keeping up with and out-debating his likely hyper-kinetic Republican opponent Dusty Johnson. With no big Dems chomping at the bit for the uphill battle, Knobe could be the right independent at the right time to break the Republicans’ 48-year lock on the big chair on the Second Floor.