Jon Hansen

Jon Hansen is a fifth-generation South Dakotan, born in Yankton and raised in Dell Rapids, where he still lives with his wife Sheila and their children. He earned an associate degree from Southeast Technical Institute, a bachelor's in business management from the University of Sioux Falls, and a law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law. He practices at the Dell Rapids Law Firm and has served as president of the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce.

Hansen was first elected to the South Dakota House in 2010 representing District 25. He stepped away from the seat in 2013 to attend law school and returned to the House in 2018. He has served as Majority Whip, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Speaker Pro Tempore, and in January 2025 was unanimously elected Speaker of the House for the 100th Legislature.

As Speaker, Hansen sponsored the 2025 legislation that prohibits carbon-dioxide pipeline companies from using eminent domain in South Dakota — a bill signed into law by Gov. Larry Rhoden and aimed at the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions project. He has centered his 2026 gubernatorial campaign on property-tax relief, reducing state spending, and ending what he calls "corporate welfare," running with state Rep. Karla Lems as his lieutenant-governor nominee.