Independent commentator Rick Knobe is pretty sure Toby Doeden won’t survive the runoff, because Doeden’s basically a jerk:
Toby, you do NOT sound like a statesman, you do NOT sound like a politician, you DO sound like what is commonly called a “political hack.”
Yes, you have plenty of supporters. Some people are drawn to your type of behavior.
However, the 70 percent who didn’t vote for you are probably not going to vote for you July 28. Too many insults, no actual plans to deal with running our state, except you say, “I’m going to fix it.”
Your language is NOT going to lead to victory, even in your own party.
I know many people who have now registered Republican. Not to support you, but to vote for your opponent. They don’t want your type of politics leading our state.
I don’t know what your childhood was like. Were you bullied? Or were you the bully?
You can’t change what happened to you or what you did. You can change what you do.
So far, all I have seen is aggressive, punitive, mean-spirited behavior. The behavior of a bully.
That is not going to work in South Dakota [Rick Knobe, “Toby Doeden a Problem-Creator, Not a Problem-Solver,” South Dakota Standard, 2026.07.15].
I hope Rick’s right… but South Dakotans have picked a bullying sexual predator over much nicer problem-solvers for President three times in a row. South Dakota voters picked power-hungry negative campaigner Kristi Noem over more qualified problem-solvers (Nelson, Herseth-Sandlin, Varilek, Hawks, Jackley, Sutton, Smith) on multiple statewide ballots.
Knobe is right in his assessment of Doeden’s character. But he may be overly optimistic in his read of the character of South Dakota voters.
Nobody is independent and Republican is just another word for Earth hater.
Larry, I think it is more selfishness than hate; the GOP believes EVERYTHING is a resource for their exploitation for profit: natural resources (the earth), labor, finance, women . . . All put here for their carefree and unregulated use.
Might be nice to have a Toby other than Tyler.
After moving from the “sticks” to the city, in 1976, I studied and apprenticed in six months of intense sales training from a New York Hebrew sales master.
Doeden speaks the way successful salespeople talk. They don’t need friends. They demand loyalty from their underlings. A potential friend is just an opportunity to make money.
DJT was trained the very same way and presents a similar posture to the public.
Both Cory’s and Knobe’s assessment have merit.. South Dakotans generally select nice guys who are milquetoasts. You get the occasional jerk (Janklow in his first 8 years before he reformed himself and Noem), but mostly you get people who have little spine and look out for the wealthy interests and screw everyone else with a smile. I’m not sure what’s worse
Mr. Pay, into which bucket do you categorize GSM? Jerk or Milquetoast?
Grudz, GSM was a nice guy who was a milquetoast. Sorry to say that because I liked him on many issues, not the ones I was active on when he was Governor. He lacked the courage to put an end to the Janklow sewage ash scam, the Lonetree balefill folks, or the large corporate hog farms. It took citizens to fight those battles, while he hid in his office on second floor. He was afraid to go against the elite people and stand up for South Dakota.