ABERDEEN, S.D. – Toby Doeden was in Sioux Falls on April 9 when the Brown County Republican Party posted on Facebook about its Lincoln Day Dinner the following night, promising a “formal candidate announcement for statewide office.”
Doeden, an Aberdeen businessman whose deep pockets and conservative activism have sparked speculation about a run for South Dakota governor in 2026, was the first person who came to mind for political enthusiasts.
“My phone started blowing up,” said Doeden, who was scheduled to speak at the event. “I called (Brown County GOP chair) Rich Hilgemann and asked him what was going on.”
Stu Whitney
It turned out that the post referred to a lower office, and even that announcement was called off at the last minute, removing some luster from the Lincoln Day gathering.
Still, tongues were wagging, a telling sign in South Dakota politics.
The fact that a social media message sent ripples of intrigue through the state Republican establishment shows how Doeden’s influence has risen over the past 15 months amid the party’s populist turn.
"He checks a lot of boxes for a candidate," said Carl Perry, a Republican state senator from Aberdeen who served as assistant majority leader in 2025 and was endorsed by Doeden. "He's an independent person who has done well financially and has a great family. I don't know if his ideas will be the ones that the people of South Dakota choose to support, but he's definitely going to get their attention."
Political newcomer means business
Some see Doeden's ascent as a sign of deteriorating public discourse, given his penchant for inflammatory rhetoric and hardball tactics.
Others view his profile as proof that outsiders can make an impact in an arena traditionally controlled by career politicians.
“He seems intent on being a major player,” said Jon Schaff, a political science professor at Northern State University in Aberdeen. “That could be as a candidate or behind the scenes raising money and pushing a pugnacious agenda.”
Doeden didn’t commit either way during a recent interview with News Watch at his newly remodeled house and office on the rural outskirts of Aberdeen.
But he looked like a man who meant business, emboldened by the political tides in South Dakota and national tone-setting of President Donald Trump.
The property has the feel of a command center, with conference rooms and an office suite for Doeden, with plenty of front-facing windows so that he can "see people coming."
The 50-year-old Groton native also showed off a full-sized indoor court for basketball and pickleball, while a Polaris Ranger utility task vehicle sat waiting in the spacious driveway.
“Believe it not, we do have recreational activity around here,” said Doeden, with a self-deprecating nod to his hulking physique, an extension of his days as a football player and shot put standout in high school.
'Mad and angry is not a public policy'
There is a Trumpian aspect to Doeden’s methods.
He made waves in the business world before coming to politics as an outsider, latching onto a populist wave after “liberal nonsense,” as he calls it, “started leaking into South Dakota.”
His politics are personality-driven, not policy-focused, though he talks of lower property taxes, limited government and parental choice for schools.
He uses new media to his advantage, bypassing traditional outlets with paid social media posts, video snippets and a podcast called “Unfiltered,” in which he rails against the establishment with his newfound interest in public affairs.
“Up until two years ago,” Doeden told News Watch, “I was literally the least political person that you’ve ever met.”
His influence so far has been channeled through the self-funded Dakota First Action political action committee, boosting Republicans viewed as "patriots" or "solid conservatives" and berating "RINOs" (Republicans in Name Only).
The PAC took aim at mainstream Republicans during the 2024 primaries and helped defeat 14 incumbents, with Doeden spending more than $77,000 on targeted text messaging and mailers for 17 candidates.
Those efforts helped swing legislative leadership to the party’s right flank, buoyed by grassroots opposition to carbon pipelines and the state’s plan to build a prison in rural Lincoln County.
Stu Whitney
“He was looking for candidates who were committed, Christian and conservative, as well as upholding landowners' rights," said Perry, who defeated Katie Washnok, president of Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, in the primary after Doeden dumped more than $6,000 into the race.
The intraparty attacks, some of them mischaracterizing legislative votes or positions, rankled party traditionalists. Others noted the irony of Doeden calling people RINOs when his first vote in a Republican primary came in 2024.
“He’s a very mad and angry person,” said Lee Schoenbeck, a longtime GOP state senator who retired from office last year. “Mad and angry is not a public policy platform. It doesn’t educate our children, create jobs or make our communities safer. He will need to set forth a policy platform that is more than just being mad and angry.”
Different kind of change agent
Doeden has been open about his interest in running for statewide office in 2026 as part of a “conservative revolution” in South Dakota, if past misdeeds and establishment resistance don’t impede his path.
He flirted briefly with a U.S. House run in 2024 before reversing course and forming Dakota First Action, using resources from his car dealerships and real estate holdings, a portfolio built without generational wealth or a college degree.
The Aberdeen Chrysler owner has ruffled feathers with frequent takedowns of Republican standard-bearers, saying that U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson “acts like a liberal, talks like a liberal and, worst of all, votes like a liberal.”
A campaign spokesperson for Johnson told News Watch that the congressman "has worked hard during President Trump's first 100 days to advance the Republican agenda of securing the border, getting tough on China and keeping men out of women's sports. South Dakota knows he's a conservative who gets things done. Toby peddles fear and anger. Luckily, there's a limited market for that in our state."
In speaking with News Watch, Doeden criticized the job performance of Gov. Larry Rhoden since taking office in February, citing that as a possible reason for Doeden to enter a high-profile gubernatorial race in the coming months.
Rhoden and Johnson are widely expected to be in that 2026 primary contest, possibly joined by Attorney General Marty Jackley and South Dakota Speaker of the House Jon Hansen, a fellow populist and property rights advocate.
There will also be races for U.S. Senate, with Mike Rounds expected to run for re-election, and U.S. House, a seat currently occupied by Johnson.
“We’re looking ahead to 2026 and trying to figure out where I can be most effective,” said Doeden, whose wife, Liz, a former Groton High School classmate, is a close confidant. The couple has two sons and two daughters ranging in ages from 22 to 28.
“My family and I have been having a lot of discussions, and we’re still working through that big decision,” Doeden added. “I’ve always been a fighter, and I don’t get caught up in what everybody else is going to do.”
Doeden 'saddened' by Rhoden stances
Doeden said he would have thrown his support behind Rhoden if the governor had immediately joined the populist faction’s opposition to the prison project and the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines.
Instead, Rhoden initially championed a final funding bill for the prison and was noncommittal about the eminent domain legislation. He had to adjust his stances after hard-right legislative leaders foiled the prison funding plan and pushed through the eminent domain ban, clouding the pipeline vision.
Rhoden was former Gov. Kristi Noem’s lieutenant governor and became chief executive after she was confirmed for a Cabinet position in the Trump administration.
“As soon as we heard that (Noem) was going to run Homeland Security, we thought that this could be a reset for our state,” said Doeden. “Who Gov. Rhoden surrounds himself with, what he comes out for or against in the first week of his tenure, is going to tell us whether he’s an extension of the previous administration or if he’s going to stand on his own two feet. And I was very saddened to see who he surrounded himself with. And I was very saddened that he continued to want to build this Ritz-Carlton prison. You know, this isn't what the people of South Dakota want."
In a statement to News Watch, Rhoden said he is "proud of everything we accomplished in the Noem-Rhoden administration to build the freest, most conservative state in the nation," pointing to cutting taxes and regulations, pro-Second Amendment policies and low unemployment.
"I'm committed to defending this record of accomplishments from uninformed criticism," Rhoden added. "President Trump loved those accomplishments so much that he asked Kristi to join his administration."
Some of the backlash to Doeden's most forceful messages is bipartisan.
"There are two kinds of change agents," said South Dakota Democratic Party executive director Dan Ahlers. "A disruptor who is intentional and tries to change the status quo in a positive way, and a disrupter who throws Molotov cocktails and watches things burn to the ground. Toby is the latter."
Family circumstances shaped outlook
Doeden is quick to note that he inherited life lessons, but not wealth, from his parents. As the youngest of four children, he learned through family circumstances the value and necessity of hard work.
His father, Doug, who managed a lumberyard in Groton, was diagnosed in his 30s with a degenerative bone disease that required numerous trips to the Mayo Clinic for surgeries on his neck, hips and knees.
“He was disabled and never able to work after that,” Doeden said of his father, who died in 2020. “So my mom worked at 3M in Aberdeen and at a nursing home, in addition to teaching piano to 40 or 50 students. A lot of my fighting instinct comes from watching my mother sleep four hours a night for 20 straight years just to put food on the table.”
Much of Doeden's time at Groton High School was spent envisioning future business schemes, at the expense of schoolwork. He was a standout shot put and discus thrower and played running back and linebacker on a football team that ended a long losing streak his senior year.
Later, when sons Jackson and Jonathan played for the Tigers, they made sure to point out that they made the Sioux Falls Argus Leader’s annual Elite 45 all-star squad, while their father was merely an honorable mention.
College experience 'an utter waste of time'
In a household where neither parent attended college, higher education was a goal. Doeden’s three older siblings had all completed college and started careers by the time Toby graduated from high school in 1993.
Feeling outside pressures, he accepted a football and track scholarship to Minot State University in North Dakota, but his heart wasn’t in it.
“I remember unloading my little hatchback car, getting everything moved into my dorm room, and the very night I moved in thinking I should not be here,” Doeden said. “My feeling was, ‘This is an utter waste of time.’”
He qualified for the national track meet as a freshman but had already transferred to Northern State University in Aberdeen, where he lasted about a semester before proposing to Liz and moving to nearby Groton to put business plans in motion.
“I was going to be a professional house painter, but the problem was that I was terrible at painting,” said Doeden. “Then I started selling satellite dishes, and I had a snow removal business with my brother. I also bought a few rental properties and got some cash flow with that.”
Powers of persuasion in car business
A change in circumstances meant shifting priorities, similar to when his father's condition led Toby to move temporarily to the Mayo Clinic.
For Toby and Liz, there were complications in 1996 when their first child, Jackson, was born, creating a bind with medical bills.
Seeking a job with full benefits, Doeden landed at Aberdeen Chrysler, where his powers of persuasion served him well.
“I like connecting with people, so it was easy for me,” he said of selling cars. “I worked three summers at 3M because my mother worked there, sitting in a facility with no windows. So just having windows and being able to go outside while working was a motivator for me.”
He joined Aberdeen Chrysler as a sales consultant in 1997 and worked his way up to sales manager and became general manager in 2011.
Soon after that, Doeden began the process of buying the company and completed the acquisition in 2020. He expanded his network last year by acquiring Harr’s Redfield Ford in Redfield, about 40 miles south of Aberdeen.
Rental rate increase called 'insane'
With his wife as business partner, Doeden has sought to expand his companies and community involvement in northeast South Dakota.
The Doeden Investment Group includes rental properties as well as retail establishments ranging from coffee shops to sports bars and fireworks outlets.
"Here's how to measure Toby's success," Hilgemann joked at the Brown County Lincoln Day Dinner. "When he buys up enough of Aberdeen that we get to name the town Aber-Doeden, that's when we knows he's successful."
The Doedens started the 4J Foundation in 2020 with a personal donation of $25,000, naming the philanthropic organization after their four children – Jackson, Josephine, Jennie and Jonathan.
The organization's stated focus is on the "safety and well-being" of children and domestic pets.
At the end of 2023, its most recent available tax filing, the foundation had $14,257. Its single charitable endeavor that year was a community Thanksgiving meal held at Scotty's Diner in Aberdeen, with a cost of $4,800.
Doeden's Plaza Rentals company was the subject of public scrutiny in 2022 when Aberdeen tenants took to a local Facebook page with complaints about rental rates being significantly raised.
Ashley Washagesic, a single mother, told Dakota News Now at the time that her rent for a two-bedroom house increased 48% from $775 to $1,150 a month after Plaza Rentals took over the property, which she called "insane."
Doeden said at the time that his company "paid fair market value for the house and because of that were forced to adjust the rent to market value."
Using 'hate' as a political strategy
Doeden also referenced "President Biden and his administration's failed policies" in his response to rising rents, a sign of political instincts stirring.
The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with racial unrest after George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis and Trump's election defeat in 2020, ignited a populist backlash in rural conservative states, a movement that Doeden embraced.
“I saw all this national nonsense going on, and for the first time in my life, I started getting worried," he said. "People were frustrated. Property taxes were skyrocketing. People were making the same amount of money as they were five years ago but keeping much less of it. It was eye-opening for me. I decided to get involved so I could help people who didn't really know how to help themselves.”
He entered the statewide political fray in January 2024 by forming an exploratory committee to challenge Johnson in the Republican primary, but the bid ended about a month later.
Some of Doeden's prior posts from X (formerly Twitter) found their way onto political blogs, showing that he called for shooting immigrants in gangs "between the eyes" and referred to Biden as a “bumbling f—tard.”
At the time, Doeden insinuated that Johnson's team was responsible for spotlighting the social media posts and refused to apologize for them, though they were deleted.
In his interview with News Watch, Doeden said that assaults on his character are an indication of how Republican traditionalists are worried about losing influence.
“Career establishment politicians fear outsiders more than anything else, because they're unpredictable and they can't be bought," Doeden said.
Schoenbeck countered that browbeating South Dakota Republican officeholders is not a prudent path to gaining a foothold in the party.
"I think it hurts (Doeden) that he has made it clear that he hates – strongly – many of the political figures that we South Dakotans really like and affirm that affection for at the ballot box regularly," said Schoenbeck, a Watertown lawyer.
'Nothing of substance to debate'
One of the main drivers behind the Dakota First Action PAC was a 29-year-old political operative named Matt Hurley, whose Victory Insights firm is based in Naples, Florida.
His wife, Rachael, is listed as the PAC's treasurer on campaign finance reports.
Hurley, who attended the Lincoln Day Dinner in Aberdeen, told News Watch that the idea for the PAC came as Doeden was getting a lot of outside pressure to primary Johnson for the U.S. House seat in 2024.
“We make a good team because Toby’s a big visionary guy and I think of myself as an operator,” Hurley said. “Finally I said, 'Why don’t we start up a political action group to provide cover and support for conservative candidates?'"
After Doeden's initial donation of $115,000 to his own PAC was flagged for exceeding the $10,000 limit, his team found a loophole and changed it to a loan, which could be forgiven under state law.
That loophole was closed for future campaigns by a 2025 law spearheaded by Republican state Sen. Michael Rohl, whose measure mandated that loans cannot exceed contribution limits.
Rohl, a small business manager in Aberdeen, was attacked by Doeden during the legislative process as a “RINO” and a “compromised politician.” Rohl told News Watch that he has never met Doeden but stands by the provision.
“I don’t believe that PACs are supposed to be shells for private checking accounts,” said Rohl, who was first elected to office in 2020. “I just try to do my job and create good policy. I assume when people throw out generic, inaccurate attacks, it's usually because they have nothing of substance to debate.”
Political consultant's rocky past
Legal questions surrounding Dakota First Action were familiar ground for Hurley, who has been tied to financial malfeasance in Florida and North Carolina and was arrested in 2020 for contempt of court after failing to submit financial disclosures.
He has been the subject of lawsuits involving real estate development and auto racing ownership. The actions led to civil judgments that total at least $2 million, according to an investigation done by a television station in Fort Myers, Florida.
Records show that owners of the Atrium Executive Center complex in Fort Myers were awarded nearly $450,000 after they accused Hurley of planning to redevelop the complex but then failing to pay rent.
Hurley later founded H2 Motorsports, a NASCAR Xfinity Series racing team in North Carolina. His ownership involved borrowing $1.5 million from the family of stock car racer Shane Lee, who was the team's driver in 2019 and sued Hurley for failure to repay the loan.
“We got five or six races into the season before stuff started blowing up,” said Lee. "The bills weren't getting paid.”
Lee was released from the team in August 2019, a decision Hurley said was based on "performance on and off the track." The H2 Motorsports team didn't race again and was shut down before the start of the 2020 season.
Contacted by News Watch, Lee said his family has reclaimed some of their race equipment based on a North Carolina court judgment but that Hurley “still owes us hundreds of thousands of dollars that we will never see.”
In a statement to News Watch, Hurley said: “We believe the ongoing dispute between H2 Motorsports and Shane Lee Racing is a simple matter of a judgment being improperly granted without due process by a court that simply does not have jurisdiction over the case. When and if the opportunity arises to litigate the issue in the proper court, we would welcome the chance to do so.”
Speaker for PAC event sparks friction
Hurley was hired in September to serve as campaign manager for Mark Robinson, the North Carolina lieutenant governor at the time whose campaign for governor was in trouble.
Most of Robinson’s staff had quit after a CNN investigation alleged that the Republican had left messages on a pornography website calling himself a “black Nazi," that he expressed support for reinstating slavery, and that he called Martin Luther King Jr. “worse than a maggot."
Robinson, who denied the allegations, was booked as keynote speaker of a Dakota First Action Victory Gala in Sioux Falls in early October. Ticketing included a $20,000 sponsorship that offered an option "to host the keynote speaker at your dinner table."
Robinson ended up sending a video message to be played at the gala due to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. He was defended by Doeden, who claimed that CNN had no proof of the allegations in the story, though a defamation lawsuit filed by Robinson was later dropped.
“Many of the policies that Robinson championed were things that Dakota First Action agreed with – lower taxes, less government, more freedom,” said Hurley. “Dakota First Action doesn't own every single action of every single elected official that it associates itself with.”
Robinson lost the gubernatorial election with 40% of the vote and declared a few months later that he would not seek office in 2026, “nor do I have plans to seek elected office in the future.”
Courting support from Loomer, Trump
As tension builds about a possible gubernatorial run, Doeden has ramped up his social media presence with paid placements on X, amplifying his message beyond his 1,800 followers.
"If you have 2,000 followers, a post might get 300 impressions," said Doeden. "If you boost it for 10 or 15 bucks, it puts it in front of a few hundred more people. And if it gets in front of the right eight or 10 activists around the state, you might get 40,000 impressions for a very small amount of money. It's almost like how you get a fire started – you've got to put the kindling in and then you get a huge flame."
Doeden’s message has also been amplified by Laura Loomer, a far-right political activist and Trump confidant who has 1.6 million followers on X. She held a meeting with Trump at the White House as recently as April 2.
The Florida-based Loomer, who describes herself as "pro white nationalism," has called Hurley "my friend" on X and declared in an April 6 post that Doeden is "shaping up to be a top contender for Governor of South Dakota!"
She has criticized Johnson for "trying to curry favor with Trump by creating legislation to take back the Panama Canal as a way to mask his anti-Trump past."
Toby Doeden is shaping up to be a top contender for Governor of South Dakota!
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) April 6, 2025
Definitely a race to watch. 👀 @TobyForSD https://t.co/sJBkH7SZoG
"I would say that Dusty Johnson is a prime suspect to get 'Loomered' (called out on social media by the activist)," said Hurley. "I don't know that her getting involved in South Dakota is as much about being pro-somebody as it is about her being anti-Dusty Johnson."
As for Trump endorsing a candidate for South Dakota governor, Hurley said that "anyone who tells you they know how to get a Trump endorsement is a liar." But he's not ruling anything out.
"He's a fan of people who show bold, aggressive leadership," Hurley said of the president. "It wouldn't surprise me at some point to see him endorse somebody who fits that profile in this state."
Keeping political people on edge
When Doeden and his family entered the Engels Event Center in downtown Aberdeen for the Brown County Lincoln Day Dinner on April 10, everything looked familiar to him.
Not just the cocktail-hour gathering of South Dakota Republicans, including fellow speakers Jackley and Hansen, but the venue itself, which Doeden purchased a few years back when it was still known as Engel Music Supply.
When he took the stage early in the program, he spoke of his mother, Arlis, who died in 2021, recalling her love for piano and his childhood days spent at the music outlet.
"She didn't have much free time after my father became disabled, but when she did, she would sometimes bring me to this building," Doeden told the attendees. "Anybody that knew my mother knew how much she loved coming here. I remember standing right outside that door, on that sidewalk and her telling me, 'Don't break anything today because I don't have any money to pay for it.'"
Doeden paused at this recollection and scanned the room, preferring nostalgia to political platitudes, at least for a few moments.
"I can still see the drum sets in here," he said, walking the stage. "I can see all of the instruments. I can smell Engel Music."
Soon after, recalling his persona, the newly minted politician said that buying the building was "needless to say, the single worst business deal I ever made."
In Toby Doeden's South Dakota, it's important to get people talking or leave them guessing, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they're published. Contact Stu Whitney at stu.whitney@sdnewswatch.org.
