Unlike Donald Trump, Jon Hansen is thinking a little bit about South Dakotans’ financial situations…
Speaker and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jon Hansen proposes a tax cut—
Speaker of the House and Republican candidate for governor Jon Hansen is calling for South Dakota to implement a South Dakota Summer Gas Tax Holiday through a special session of the Legislature, arguing that rising fuel prices, instability, and persistent inflation are continuing to hammer South Dakota families, businesses, farmers, and truckers.
…Right now, South Dakota’s state gas tax adds 28 cents per gallon to both gasoline and diesel fuel.
…The state can afford to act without jeopardizing roads or infrastructure funding.
Estimates show a summer gas tax holiday would save taxpayers approximately $50 million. Meanwhile, South Dakota’s “Future Fund,” originally created to support economic development, is currently sitting on more than $60 million in ready reserve dollars which can be used to completely fill any highway funding gap created as a result of the gas tax holiday.
“There is no better use for those reserve dollars than a gas tax holiday that helps South Dakota taxpayers and keeps our economy moving,” Hansen said [Hansen/Lems campaign, press release, 2026.05.12].
—and his fellow Republicans jump down his throat:
Ian Fury, a spokesman for the Rhoden campaign, told Searchlight that Hansen’s gas tax idea “is not ready for primetime,” pointing to the current balance of the Future Fund and the new law, which takes effect July 1. Fury said “this use of Future Funds would not be legal” under the new law.
The state could also lose out on federal highway funding if the tax holiday took effect and the state failed to pay its required percentage of matching funds for federal highway projects, Fury said.
“Maybe worst of all — doing this would cost South Dakota taxpayers $216 million in federal highway funding,” Fury said in a statement to Searchlight. “A governor should lead with thoughtful policy, not political gimmicks.”
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, who’s led the race in all public polling, sent a statement to Searchlight.
“After voting for a new tax on just about everything South Dakotans buy, I understand why Jon Hansen is looking for a holiday from his record. I agree that gas is too expensive, and that’s why I’m working this week to get E15 across the finish line here in Congress. That will save South Dakotans millions of dollars at the pump.”
…A spokesman for businessman Toby Doeden said the state “should be making cuts that directly benefit our residents.”
The summer is “peak visitor season,” when out-of-state tourists contribute the most to South Dakota’s economy, the spokesman said. “If Speaker Hansen cared to make a real substantive improvement for state residents, why didn’t he want to suspend the gas tax during harvest season so that our amazing farmers and ranchers would be able to save more on fuel as their operating costs increase?” [Meghan O’Brien, “Governor Candidate’s Call for State Gas Tax Holiday Not Endorsed by Opponents,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2026.05.12]
I would usually argue that cutting the gasoline tax is bad policy: roads and bridges still need fixing, regardless of inflation, recession, or whatever other disasters Trumpists like Hansen may wreak upon the Republic. Unlike Trump, Hansen at least shows a glimmer of good sense and pays for his tax cut, taking money usually handed out to well-heeled crony-capitalists and instead distributing that money to the tired and poor driving masses.
The Rhoden campaign almost has a point, that House Bill 1286, which Hansen voted for, will supposedly restrict Future Fund dollars to research or economic development projects… but if Hansen puts on his lawyer hat, he could point out that (a) HB 1286 isn’t in effect yet, so Governor Rhoden could move Future Fund money now to cover a summer gas tax holiday, and (b) Section 1 Clause 4 of HB 1286 says that “economic development project” can include “The development of infrastructure required to support economic development in this state.” Using the Future Fund to pay for building roads and bridges is about as direct an investment in infrastructure as one can imagine, and the investment would have double impact, as it would make possible a tax cut for every driving South Dakotan, who could then stimulatorily spend the savings on groceries and couches and other goods and services. Toby Doeden frets that we’ll miss out on soaking tourists with our gas tax, but he misses the point that tourists will have more money to spend on pizza at Casey’s and cowboy hats at Wall Drug. That broad and direct economic stimulus, coming a little bit from everybody on the road, would do more good for South Dakota’s economy than the vague promises of some country-club-favored entrepreneur.
Stop handing tax dollars to big corporations; instead, spread the wealth to all South Dakotans. That’s Jon Hansen’s economic populism.