PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — Dan Ahlers, the Democratic candidate for South Dakota governor, plans to go public with the identity of his running mate.
But the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website spoiled the surprise, with its online general election candidate list indicating Ahlers chose former Democratic legislator and Sisseton farmer Steven McCleerey, 73, as his lieutenant governor headed into the 2026 general election.
Ahlers confirmed McCleerey would be his running mate in an Aug. 11 phone call with The Dakota Scout.
The Ahlers campaign plans to hold a press conference to publicly introduce McCleerey as lieutenant governor nominee on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at the Old Minnehaha County Courthouse Museum in Sioux Falls.
McCleerey is the owner and operator of a cow/calf operation near Sisseton. He studied general agriculture at South Dakota State University.
He has been a life-time member of the South Dakota Farmers Union since 1982 and has served as vice chair of the Roberts County Farmers Union. McCleerey, a former dairy farmer, is also a member of South Dakota Corn Growers and the South Dakota Soybean Association.
McCleerey will also benefit the Ahlers ticket with health care system governance: He is vice president of the Coteau des Prairies Health Care Systems board of directors, and he serves on the Governance Committee of the Sisseton hospital’s foundation board.
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