April 8, 2026:
A young man from Pierre who declared his candidacy for Governor of South Dakota last summer (June 7, 2025), ended up 113 valid signatures short of qualifying to be on the Democratic Party’s June Primary Election ballot.
The Secretary of State’s Office said this week (April 8, 2026) that state statute required Robert Arnold to have at least 1,232 valid signatures to appear on the ballot. Arnold submitted 1,407 signatures. The Secretary of State’s office conducted a random sample and found 79.51 percent– or 1,119 signatures– to be valid.
Arnold was 19 years old at the time he announced is candidacy, but would have turned 21– the minimum age someone can be in South Dakota to be elected governor– by the time of the election.
For more information on candidates who will be on the ballot at the Primary Election, please see the candidate list on the Secretary of State’s website: https://vip.sdsos.gov/candidatelist.aspx?eid=773.
June 9, 2025:
A 19 year-old college student from Pierre says he’s running for governor of South Dakota as a democrat in 2026. That’s according to reporting by Northern Plains News.
Robert Arnold, a Dakota State University undergrad, announced his campaign Saturday (June 7, 2025) at the Capitol in Pierre.
Arnold is Oglala Lakota and would be the state’s first Native governor. He cites COVID-19 policies as his political wake-up call and says he’s running to address affordable housing, tribal community safety and education funding.
Arnold has served as a legislative page and intern and plans to campaign while continuing his full-time studies.
Arnold will be 21 years old by the time the 2026 election comes around– that’s the minimum age someone can be in South Dakota to be elected governor.
Northern Plains News contributed to this story.
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