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Tony Venhuizen

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Tony Venhuizen
Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
GovernorLarry Rhoden
SucceedingLarry Rhoden
Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives
from the 13th district
In office
January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10) – January 29, 2025 (2025-01-29)
Serving with Sue Peterson
Preceded byRichard Thomason
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
Born1982 (age 42–43)
Armour, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Sara Daugaard
​
(m. 2004)​
Children3
RelativesDennis Daugaard (father-in-law)
EducationSouth Dakota State University (BS)
University of South Dakota (JD)

Tony Venhuizen (born 1982) is an American politician and attorney. He served as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 13th district, alongside Sue Peterson, from 2023 to 2025.[1] A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the chief of staff to governors Dennis Daugaard, who is also Venhuizen's father-in-law, and Kristi Noem.

In January 2025, he was selected by Governor Larry Rhoden to serve as the lieutenant governor of South Dakota.

Life and career

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Early life and education

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Venhuizen was born in 1982 at the Douglas County Memorial Hospital in Armour, South Dakota. His father, Keith, is a dentist and was a school board member for a decade. Venhuizen's maternal grandfather, Henry Poppen, served as a Republican Party member of the South Dakota Senate from 1967 to 1992. He graduated from Armour High School in 2001; there, he was included in the National Merit Scholar. In eleventh grade, Venhuizen served as a page at the Senate, where he met Dennis Daugaard, then a state legislator, and his daughter, Sara. Later, at the 2002 convention for the South Dakota Republican Party, Venhuizen met Sara again and the two began dating, marrying in 2004.[2] Together, they had three children. In 2005, he received a Bachelor of Science from South Dakota State University, double majoring in political science and history.[3][2] There, he was a recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.[4] In 2008, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law.[3]

Early career

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In 2002, Venhuizen was an employee for the gubernatorial campaign of Mike Rounds. Initially seen as a long-shot candidate, Rounds emerged as the winner in an upset victory and served as governor of South Dakota. Venhuizen helped decorate Rounds's office in Rapid City and, at the request of Rounds, remained an employee through the transition.[2][5] After earning his law degree, Venhuizen passed the bar exam in August 2008. He was employed as a law clerk for a year for the First Judicial Circuit of South Dakota. The employment expired in August 2009; he was later chosen as the campaign manager for the gubernatorial campaign of Daugaard. Following Daugaard's victory in the 2010 election, he selected Venhuizen as director of policy and communications on November 22 of that year. The nomination received criticism from executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, who accused Daugaard of nepotism.[2] Throughout Daugaard's governorship, Venhuizen served as a senior advisor.[6] In November 2014, Venhuizen was selected to be Daugaard's chief of staff, succeeding Dusty Johnson.[7] Venhuizen served in that position for four years.[8]

Governor Kristi Noem appointed Venhuizen as her chief of staff in March 2020. He had previously worked as a senior advisor for Noem before resigning in June 2019 to work at a law firm in Sioux Falls.[9] He left his post as chief of staff on April 23, 2021, after Noem appointed him to the South Dakota Board of Regents.[6][10]

South Dakota House of Representatives (2023–2025)

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On February 8, 2022, Venhuizen announced his candidacy for the South Dakota House of Representatives, aiming to represent the 13th district.[8] He won the primary alongside incumbent Sue Peterson;[11] the two faced no opposition in the general election.[12] Venhuizen was inaugurated on January 10, 2023.[13]

In December 2023, Venhuizen introduced a bill alongside Casey Crabtree that would allow voters to decide if work requirements should be considered for those enrolled in the Medicaid government program. A similar resolution, also introduced by Venhuizen, earlier in the year was struck down by a South Dakota Senate committee due to its broad language.[14]

Lieutenant Governor nomination

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On January 25, 2025, Noem resigned from her post as governor after being confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the secretary of homeland security. The lieutenant governor, Larry Rhoden, succeeded her; he was sworn in on January 27.[15] Two days after his inauguration, Rhoden nominated Venhuizen to serve as lieutenant governor. Shortly before the announcement, Venhuizen had resigned from his seat in the House.[16] That same day, Venhuizen's nomination was approved in a unanimous 5–0 vote by the Senate Select Committee on the Nomination for Lieutenant Governor.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Representative Tony Venhuizen". South Dakota Legislature. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Lawrence, T. (November 26, 2010). "Armour native climbs political ranks". Mitchell Republic. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Tupper, Seth; Haiar, Joshua (January 29, 2025). "Sioux Falls legislator Tony Venhuizen is Rhoden's pick for SD lieutenant governor". South Dakota Searchlight. States Newsroom. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "Tony Venhuizen". Cabinet & Staff Biographies. Governor of South Dakota. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  5. ^ Woster, Kevin (November 26, 2018). "From the hardwood to the Capitol: Broken back becomes blessing in disguise for Kennedy Noem". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Epstein, Kayla; Rojas, Warren; LoBianco, Tom (September 29, 2021). "Gov. Kristi Noem's circle of allies is made up of family, Trump aides like Corey Lewandowski, and connected South Dakotans who could help her in a possible presidential run". Business Insider. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  7. ^ Montgomery, David (November 6, 2014). "Venhuizen to succeed Johnson as chief of staff". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Laura (January 27, 2022). "In 3 years, Gov. Kristi Noem has had 5 people in the chief of staff position". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Trevor J. (March 2, 2020). "Tony Venhuizen joins Noem administration as chief of staff". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  10. ^ Mercer, Bob (April 26, 2021). "Tony Venhuizen talks about the second time that he served as a S.D. governor's chief of staff". KELO-TV. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  11. ^ Sneve, Joe (June 8, 2022). "See who Sioux Falls-area voters chose in the South Dakota Senate, House primary election". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  12. ^ Sneve, Joe (May 18, 2022). "Meet the candidates: District 13 primary could tip scales in Republicans' power struggle". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  13. ^ "98th South Dakota Legislative Session Calendar" (PDF). South Dakota Legislature. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  14. ^ Todd, Annie (December 15, 2023). "South Dakota lawmakers are bringing back a Medicaid work requirement resolution in 2024". Argus Leader. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  15. ^ Dausch, Dominik (January 27, 2025). "Larry Rhoden sworn in as 34th governor of South Dakota in private ceremony". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  16. ^ Dausch, Dominik (January 29, 2025). "South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden taps Sioux Falls lawmaker for lieutenant governor role". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  17. ^ Epp, Todd (January 29, 2025). "Tony Venhuizen's Nomination for Lt. Governor Advances to Full Senate". KXLG. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
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