Democrat drops out of South Dakota’s Senate race, clearing path for independent

2026 ElectionDemocrat drops out of South Dakota’s Senate race, clearing path for independent candidate Julian Beaudion ended his campaign after winning the Democratic nomination in June, leaving GOP Sen. Mike Rounds with an independent challenger in November.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is facing re-election this fall. Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 4, 2026, 7:37 PM EDTBy Bridget BowmanJulian Beaudion, the Democratic nominee for Senate in South Dakota, announced Tuesday that he is ending his campaign, clearing the way for independent Brian Bengs to take on GOP Sen. Mike Rounds this fall.Beaudion is the latest Democrat in a solidly Republican state to drop out of a race that also featured an independent contender.Democrat Cindy Burbank recently did so in Nebraska, where independent Dan Osborn is running against GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts. Democrat David Roth also ended his Senate bid in Idaho, allowing independent Todd Achilles face GOP Sen. Jim Risch. Independent Seth Bodnar is also running for Senate in Montana, but Democrat Alani Bankhead has said she plans to remain in the race. Beaudoin, a nonprofit leader and former state highway patrol officer, suggested he was not exiting the race to help give the independent candidate a better chance at victory in November. He noted in a lengthy statement posted on X that he would not be endorsing Beng or Rounds in the race. Beaudoin said he was ending his campaign after he and his family faced “intimidating threats to drop out of the race.” Beaudoin did not elaborate on those threats, saying that the “time will come” for him to reveal more details. But he criticized Bengs in an interview with The Washington Post, saying the independent candidate has “proven to stoop to whatever level he has to to make sure he gains power.”Rounds recently told NBC News that his campaign strategy would not change if the Democratic contender dropped out, su...