1974 South Dakota gubernatorial election

The 1974 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974, to elect a governor of South Dakota. This election was the first in South Dakota to elect the governor for a four-year term, after it was allowed by a constitutional amendment passed in 1972. Democratic nominee and Governor Richard F. Kneip was re-elected, defeating Republican nominee John E. Olson. As of 2026, this is the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of South Dakota, marking the start of the longest Republican winning streak in the country for a state's governorship, as well as the longest gubernatorial winning streak by a single party.