By Most South Dakota gubernatorial candidates have law degrees, family connections or deep donor lists.
Robert Arnold has a double major, a student identification card and a vision.
The 19-year-old Dakota State University student has announced he’s running in 2026 as a Democrat for governor. If he gets on the ballot, he’ll be the youngest serious candidate for governor in U.S. history. The South Dakota Constitution requires that a governor or lieutenant governor be at least 21 years old.
Robert Arnold, a 19-year-old from Pierre, has announced that he’s running to be governor of South Dakota. He’s seeking the Democratic nomination. Courtesy photo.
Arnold is Oglala Lakota and enrolled with the Pine Ridge Reservation, making him a potential first in another way: South Dakota has never elected a Native governor.
MORE: O’Gorman’s Tynan elected 2025 South Dakota Boys State governor as Rhoden visits
Arnold is not blind to the odds.
“The state party told me they had someone else in mind,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know who that might be.
He’s also not waiting for permission.
His first hurdle to running a successful campaign will be to get on the ballot. State law requires that statewide candidates collect enough signatures of voters equal to at least 1% of that party’s previous vote total for governor. For Arnold, that comes out to about 1,231 valid signatures in order to qualify for next year’s primary ballot.
Why is he running?
Arnold said his political awakening started during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
“At first, South Dakota’s response made sense,” he said. “But then it became a political issue. Our governor rolled everything back and kind of joined in on the crazies who were denying it was a serious problem. And that I do not agree with at all.”
MORE: Populist pull: Governor hopefuls balance rebellion, party unity
That moment, when public health collided with politics, pushed Arnold from interested observer to determined participant.
“I realized there’s really two types of politicians in D.C. — people who don’t really write good legislation at all, and then there’s people who write legislation I vehemently oppose.”
He’s seeking a double major in computer science and sociology. In 2023, he worked as a legislative page. This year, he interned full-time at the state Capitol.
He’s the first Democrat to announce his candidacy, joining Republicans Toby Doeden and Jon Hansen
Affordable housing, safety, tax reform among top issues
Arnold centers his campaign around three issues:
- Housing affordability.
- Tribal and community safety.
- Property tax reform tied to education.
He wants to shift K-12 school funding away from local property taxes and to the state’s general fund — an idea few legislators have dared touch.
“In rural communities with cheaper housing, the schools aren’t funded as well as the more urban areas. Then, there’s a disproportionate education given to those students,” he said.
Arnold also proposes using property tax dollars for local infrastructure — walkable communities, improved roads and better quality of life.
On the reservations, he wants to confront drug abuse and gang violence, but with tribal leaders in the driver’s seat.
MORE: Rhoden visits Smack, which expects to start producing pet food this summer
“As a Native, I want to work with the reservations to solve these problems in the best way we can,” he said.
Arnold’s campaign is a one-man band, at least for now. He has no paid staff. His website is still under construction. His ActBlue account is pending.
But he insists he’s not in this alone.
“I’m building a team from people all across South Dakota,” he said. “I don’t have all the answers. But I’m willing to ask for help and bring in diverse perspectives.”
Even if he loses, Arnold says his campaign is about breaking the cycle.
“We need to change what we’re talking about. We need to bring the conversation back to what’s best for our people at home,” he said.