US Senate
Primary election·2026-06-02·Contested
Republican Primary
2 candidates
Two-term incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor of South Dakota (2003-2011). First elected to Senate in 2014.
Votes
101,269
Percentage
75.8%
Navy veteran and businessman from Rapid City.
Votes
32,338
Percentage
24.2%
Democratic
1 candidateno primary — advances to general
Julian Beaudion
Democrat
Former South Dakota state trooper and businessman.
Other Candidates
1 candidateBB
Brian Bengs
Independent
U.S. Navy and Air Force veteran, former NSU political science professor. Was 2022 Democratic Senate nominee, running as Independent in 2026.
Campaign Finance
Individual
PAC
Self-funded
Other
In the news
- Challenger takes aim at incumbent’s campaign finances in South Dakota US Senate raceSouth Dakota Searchlight· Oct 16
Brian Bengs is directly quoted discussing his campaign finance reform platform as an independent candidate in the Senate race.
- Unusually high number of independent candidates seek South Dakota legislative seatsSouth Dakota Searchlight· Oct 16
Mike Rounds is directly mentioned as the incumbent Republican U.S. Senator facing an independent challenger in the November general election.
- Rounds’ Sioux Falls office among several receiving suspicious letters, officials saySioux Falls Live· Oct 16
The story reports on a security incident affecting Senator Rounds' office, which is a matter of public concern regarding his official capacity and safety.
South Dakota Searchlight stories are republished-linkable under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (States Newsroom).