PIERRE, S.D, (KELO) — Chris Karr of Sioux Falls reportedly has been chosen by Senate Republicans as the chamber’s next president pro tem for the 2025-26 term in a private vote on Friday night.
Karr, who was elected to the Senate on Tuesday and is finishing eight years in the House, will succeed Lee Schoenbeck of Watertown, who didn’t seek re-election.
Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden is the Senate president and wields the gavel during floor sessions. The president pro tem is the chamber’s top senator and decides the committees each senator serves on and which committee will hear each piece of legislation.
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Republican senators reportedly chose Jim Mehlhaff of Pierre as the chamber’s new majority leader on Friday night. He reportedly received more of the secret votes than Casey Crabtree of Madison, who was majority leader for the 2023-24 term.
Crabtree had led the push in the Senate during the 2024 session to pass SB201, the controversial CO2 pipeline legislation that lawmakers ultimately approved and Governor Kristi Noem signed. But opponents referred the pending law to a statewide vote. On Tuesday, voters stopped it, with 59% voting against it.
Senator-elect Carl Perry of Aberdeen was chosen as assistant majority leader on Friday. Karr and Perry voted against SB201 in the House, while Mehlhaff voted for it in the Senate.
