PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The historic Senate chamber of the South Dakota Capitol soared with applause on Thursday afternoon as Tony Venhuizen received congratulations for becoming the state’s new lieutenant governor.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m., senators voted 35-0 to confirm the nomination of Venhuizen. He had resigned from his House seat on Wednesday morning, shortly before Gov. Larry Rhoden introduced Venhuizen to news reporters and the public as his choice for lieutenant governor.
A day later, Venhuizen and his wife, Sara, and their three children walked up the steps to the Senate rostrum, where he took the oath of office from a former lieutenant governor, Matt Michels. Venhuizen raised his right hand and placed his left hand on a Bible held by Sara, a book that had once belonged to one of his grandfathers, long-time legislator Henry Poppen.
As his parents, Nan and Keith Venhuizen, and his father-in-law, former Gov. Dennis Daugaard, and his wife’s brother and sister watched from up in the gallery, Venhuizen solemnly swore that he would support and defend the constitutions of the United States and the state of South Dakota “so help me God.”
The clapping and whistling from scores of lawmakers, legislative staff, family, Governor Rhoden and members of his staff and cabinet, and many others went on and on for more than a minute. When the applause stopped, Venhuizen took a few moments to offer his reflections.
Sioux Falls Airport travelers react to plane crash
“This is a great honor for me,” he said.
Venhuizen thanked Gov. Rhoden for placing confidence in him. “I will do my very best to be worthy of that confidence and to be worthy of the people of this state,” he said.
Venhuizen also thanked the Legislature for confirming him. The House vote was 67-0.
“That was really very overwhelming, and it means a great deal to us,” he said.
Venhuizen noted that former First Lady Linda Daugaard was feeling “a little under the weather” and couldn’t be there. “But she is my mother in law,” he deadpanned, “so I know she’s always watching.”
That sparked another round of laughter and applause.
The South Dakota Constitution says the lieutenant governor shall be the president of the Senate. Venhuizen noted that his grandfather served 26 years in the Legislature and his father-in-law had been a senator for six years, then lieutenant governor for eight years and finally governor for eight years.
“The job of the president of the Senate is to be fair, even-handed, keep the operation of the Senate moving forward in an efficient way, and that is what I will endeavor to do,” Venhuizen said. He asked for patience as he learns the position’s intricacies.
“I will do my best, and it is a great honor,” Venhuizen said. That brought more long applause.
Until Venhuizen took over Thursday, Republican Sen. Chris Karr had been presiding over the Senate this week in his role as president pro tem, the number-two spot in the chamber’s pecking order. Karr went up the steps to the rostrum and gave Venhuizen a beautifully polished wooden gavel.
“I thought they were going to start chanting USA! for a second,” Karr joked.
Venhuizen knows the Capitol well. He’s been visiting the building since before he started grade school and worked on the second floor all eight years when Daugaard was governor, first as communications director and then as chief of staff. He came back as chief of staff for the Noem administration for about a year. In 2022 he won election to the House of Representatives.
Now he is the second person to be appointed lieutenant governor in mid-term. Steve Kirby of Sioux Falls was the first, back in 1993, when Gov. Walter Dale Miller appointed him. Miller had been serving as lieutenant governor and had the unfortunate honor of succeeding George S. Mickelson as governor. Mickelson and seven others were killed in the horrific crash of the state-owned MU-2 airplane on April 19 that year.
The circumstances this time carry a much different tone. On Saturday, Kristi Noem officially resigned as governor, after the U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment as the new federal secretary for homeland security. Rhoden had been lieutenant governor in her administration, so he automatically moved up. That left the lieutenant governor’s spot open. On Monday, Rhoden offered it to Venhuizen, who accepted.
Venhuizen spent the rest of Thursday afternoon presiding over the Senate. Afterward he spoke to KELOLAND News about how the big day had gone.
“You know, it was an overwhelming feeling to be sworn in, and then the Senate floor and gallery full of people, not just the senators but most of my House colleagues, and people who work here at the Capitol, some of whom I’ve known for decades — it’s hard to describe,” Venhuizen said.
Asked what it meant to be handed the gavel, Venhuizen said, “It’s just a great honor. Having served in the Legislature and worked here, to be in this position now hasn’t really sunk in. It’s just a great honor.”