HOUGHTON, S.D. (KFGO) – R. Lars Herseth, a long-serving South Dakota legislative leader and the 1986 Democratic nominee for governor, died Saturday at his Brown County farm. He was 80.
Herseth spent two decades in the South Dakota Legislature, holding major leadership roles in both chambers. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1975 at age 28, he became House minority leader four years later. Following his 1986 gubernatorial run, he was elected to the State Senate, where he served as Senate president pro tempore in 1993 and Senate minority leader from 1995 to 1996.
In the 1986 governor’s race, Herseth scored a major primary upset over former Gov. Richard Kneip. He ultimately lost the general election to Republican George S. Mickelson by just 10,645 votes, one of the tightest gubernatorial contests in South Dakota history.
Throughout his legislative tenure, Herseth earned a reputation for a bipartisan approach to governance. Notably, he collaborated with Republican Gov. Bill Janklow during the state’s rail line crisis in the late 1970s and 1980s to protect critical agricultural transportation infrastructure.
Herseth belonged to one of South Dakota’s most prominent political dynasties spanning three generations. His father, Ralph Herseth, served as governor from 1959 to 1961, and his mother, Lorna Herseth, served as secretary of state from 1973 to 1979. His daughter, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, represented South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2004 to 2011 and currently serves as president of Augustana University.
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