South Dakota Senate Race

2026 Election • Class 2
Back to Senate Races

Primary

Republican Primary

Held June 2, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Mike Rounds 101,471 75.8%
Justin McNeal 32,412 24.2%

Full calendar and every race: South Dakota primary guide

Race Overview

Incumbent
Mike Rounds
Party
Republican
Open Seat
No
Current Rating
Safe R expert avg

Race Ratings

Cook Political Report

Solid R

Inside Elections

Solid R

Sabato's Crystal Ball

Safe R

Candidates

Mike Rounds

Mike Rounds Nominee Incumbent

Republican
Total Raised: $3,176,451
Cash on Hand: $2,736,664

Julian C Beaudion Won Primary — Withdrew

Democrat

Julian C Beaudion dropped out; the Democrat nomination is outstanding until the party names a replacement.

Total Raised: $228,295
Cash on Hand: $3,078

Justin McNeal

Republican
Total Raised: $10,993
Cash on Hand: $1

Brian Bengs

Independent
Total Raised: $782,050
Cash on Hand: $51,406

Average reflects all polls from the last 30 days; table shows the most recent 30 days or the newest 3 polls, whichever is more. How accurate is each pollster? →

No polls in the last 90 days.

Questions About This Race

Is the 2026 South Dakota Senate race competitive?

No — the expert consensus rates it Safe R for Republicans.

Why is there no Democrat nominee in the 2026 South Dakota Senate race?

Julian C Beaudion dropped out; the Democrat nomination is outstanding until the party names a replacement.

When is the 2026 South Dakota Senate race decided?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

How is the PollingSource average calculated?

The PollingSource average is the unweighted mean of every scientific public poll of the race from the last 30 days — we do not exclude pollsters. Each race page lists the individual polls behind the average with pollster, field dates, sample size, and margin of error. Full details: pollingsource.com/methodology.

Race Notes

Two-term incumbent

Independent Expenditures Updated just now

$577,264
Total IE Spending
$577,264
Support
$0
Oppose

Top Spenders

Full outside-spending research — every committee, every race →

Race News