Brian Bengs, who is charting an independent course in quest for U.S. Senate, sees reasons for optimism in poll
Is the Democratic Party brand poison in South Dakota? Does the letter D behind a candidate’s name on the ballot ruin any chance of winning?
That seems to be the case. Democrats do not hold any major office in the state. They are outnumbered 96-9 in the Legislature. Democrats have not won a statewide election since 2008. They last elected a governor in 1974!
Brian Bengs was reminded of this long losing streak in 2022, when he was the Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat held by John Thune. The incumbent won a fourth term 69.63-26.15%.
Bengs carried just three counties and was soundly defeated on both sides of the Missouri River.
But the former Northern State University professor and Navy and Air Force veteran, who retired as a lieutenant colonel before settling with his family in Aberdeen, is making another run for the Senate.
But this time, he is running as an independent. Bengs thinks he stands a better chance without the Democratic yolk around his neck if he faces Sen. Mike Rounds next year.
A recent poll offers some hope. The Bengs campaign shared it with me over the weekend.
The survey was conducted from Nov. 13-14 by Public Policy Polling for the Bengs campaign. PPP, which is considered a Democratic-leaning pollster but with a high record of accuracy, shows Rounds leading Bengs 44-31%, with 25% undecided, in a two-candidate race.
The Democrats do have an announced candidate, former state trooper Julian Beaudion, a Sioux Falls restaurant owner and community activist. The poll shows Beaudion trailing Rounds 52-30%, with 18% undecided. There was no three-candidate poll conducted.
Bengs told me the questions were phrased in a neutral fashion, but he reads positive signs from the answers.
“Part of being an independent is being a straight shooter. We made sure the poll wording was clear and honest, almost verbatim from each candidate’s website. Even after those charitable readings, South Dakotans still lean my way,” he said. “That means something. It means regular folks are fed up with the career politicians who got us into this mess and are ready for a different option.”
There are other questions with more content about all three candidates. A description of Bengs emphasizes his military career and says he would chart an independent course in the Senate. He promises to refuse corporation PAC money, support banning congressional stock trading, call for the release of the Epstein files and serve just two terms as part of a commitment to term limits.
That makes him more attractive to 55% of the people surveyed, with 7% saying it would make them less likely to vote for him, 30% saying it would make no difference and 9% unsure.
Another question quoted critics of Bengs, saying he was just “pretending” to be an independent in a desperate attempt to get elected. It said he favored a “radical liberal agenda” and the “failed Biden agenda.”
It was a preview of Rounds’ ads in 2026.
Many people surveyed said this line of attack worked, with 41% less likely to back Bengs, while 40% said it made no difference, 14% said it made them more likely to support him, and 5% unsure.
Another question offered a pushback on that, saying he had been an independent for 95% of his life, would put South Dakota first and was a gun owner, opposed to defunding police and in favor of secure borders.
That made 30% more likely to support him, 18% less likely, and left 7% unsure. The largest number, 45%, said it made no difference.
The additional question on Rounds says he has pledged to put South Dakota first, is proud of an endorsement from President Trump and his pro-life voting record. It also notes he voted for three Farm Bills, backed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” was in favor of tighter restrictions at the southern border and favors shutting down the federal Department of Education.
This made 38% of people less likely to vote for him, 34% more likely.
Beaudion was described as potentially the first African American to represent South Dakota in the Senate and as a “proud graduate of the Barack Obama Leaders foundation,” a civic leader in the state and an organizer of the Sioux Falls march in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. It also listed his stances on cutting taxes for working families and making health care more affordable.
This caused 33% to say it made no difference, 32% to be less likely to support him, 30% more likely and 5% to say it didn’t matter.
His head-to-head numbers against Rounds remained almost the same, with the Republican senator leading 52-33%, with 15% undecided.
Bengs’ goal is clear. He has no plans to seek the Democratic nomination. In fact, he would refuse it. He wants Beaudion to realize he has no chance and drop out, giving Bengs a one-on-one showdown with Rounds — and without the D millstone to drag him down.
The poll makes South Dakota’s deep Red status clear. When asked who they voted for in 2024, 57% said Trump, while 34% backed Vice President Kamala Harris and 9% chose someone else or didn’t vote.
That’s close to the actual results. Trump won 63-34%, with 3% going to minor candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Most people surveyed were Republicans, with 51% in the GOP, 29% independents or unaffiliated, and just 20% Democrats. The party has a slight edge, 45-44%, in a favorable-unfavorable question, with 11 not sure.
Democrats, meanwhile, are in deep trouble. The majority of people interviewed, 65%, have an unfavorable view of it. Just 23% support it, with 12% undecided. Those are disastrous, but not surprising, figures.
Most of the 814 people interviewed were women, 52-46%, while 2% listed themselves as “other” or nonbinary, while 90% were white, 5% Native American, and 5% describing themselves as other. The age breakdown was fairly even, with 40% between 46-65, 33% 18-45 and 27% over 65.
Most, 50%, approve of Trump’s work as president, while 43% disapprove and 7% just aren’t sure.
Rounds’ support was thin, with 42% displeased with his efforts, 40% approving of it, and 18% unsure, a large number for someone who has been in the public eye for two decades.
Almost half of the people surveyed, 48%, said it was time for a change, while 35% wanted Rounds to win a third term, and 18% were unsure.
Bengs and Beaudion remain largely unknown. In Bengs’ case, 75% are unsure how they feel about him, 16% hold an unfavorable view, and just 9% are in his corner. The numbers are similar for Beaudion, with 73% not sure, 17% unfavorable and just 10% favorable.
Despite all this, Bengs said he saw reasons for optimism in these numbers. The poll reported that 49% said the country was headed in the wrong direction, while 41% said full-speed ahead, with 10% unsure.
Trump’s tariffs were supported by 47%, with 41% opposed and 11% neutral. People said their economic condition was either growing worse or remaining the same, with 38% saying it had declined, 36% listing no change, and 24% doing better. Just 2% were unsure.
“The poll confirms what every South Dakotan already knows: people are tired of the corruption from politicians and the partisan gridlock,” he told me. “They want leaders committed to restoring the American dream for them, not simply making billionaires and corporations richer.”
The best way to accomplish that, Bengs thinks, is by going independent.
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: Brian Bengs for South Dakota Facebook Page
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