Mike Rounds, a Republican, currently holds this Senate seat and is running for re-election. It’s considered a safe Republican seat. Mike Rounds, a Republican, has taken $163,264 in donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group. Brian Bengs, an independent, shows no AIPAC-linked donations in available records.
Key issues in South Dakota
Major issues facing South Dakota, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.
Cost of living pressures — Residents name the economy their top concern as housing, childcare and healthcare costs strain family budgets.
Voting rules changes — A new law requires proof of citizenship for state and local races, and a lawsuit challenges federal-only voter designations.
Data center opposition — A majority of voters oppose data centers near their communities, and new rules make developers cover their power costs.
Education funding — Candidates clash over school funding levels, free lunches, preschool access and property-tax relief tied to education.
Rural healthcare access — Rural services are shrinking and nursing homes close as low Medicaid reimbursement rates squeeze providers.
Housing affordability — Housing costs rank among voters' top worries, with rising rents and prices squeezing workers and young families.
AIPAC-linked $163,264FundVoter-reported, career 2024–2026 — methodology replication pending
AIPAC PAC and AIPAC-routed contributions, 2026 cycle. Source: FEC filings via FundVoter.
No 2026 conduit activity detectedFEC filings show no earmarked contributions via conduits this cycle
A PAC can give at most $10K per cycle directly to a candidate. But when individuals route donations through a PAC acting as conduit, there’s no cap on how many donors can be bundled. That’s where the real money moves — not from the PAC’s treasury, but from individuals the PAC steered to the candidate. How conduits work →
2026 fundraising (FEC)$3,176,451 raised · $2,309,816 spent · $2,736,664 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Protecting freedoms, achieving energy independence, cutting red tape, keeping taxes low
FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.
Mike Rounds R
Brian Bengs I
Raised
$3.2M
$782K
Individuals
$1.3M42%
$775K99%
PACs & parties
$1.4M45%
$5K1%
Self-funded
$0
$0
Other
$404K13%
$2K0%
AIPAC-linked*
$163K
—
Outside spending†
—
—
* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.
† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.
“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.
Who are the biggest donors?
Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.
Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.
Mike Rounds921 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$3.2M
Campaign spent$2.3M
Cash on hand$2.7M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals42%
PACs / committees45%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
ROUTED CONTRIBUTIONS
No 2026 conduit activity detected
FEC filings show no earmarked contributions via conduits this cycle. Career AIPAC-linked total (above) may reflect prior cycles. How conduits work →
Party committee$62K
Trade association PAC$48K
Individual$21K
Membership PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Trade association PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Trade association PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Membership PAC$10K
PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Trade association PAC$10K
Leadership PAC$10K
Labor PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$10K
Trade association PAC$10K
Corporate PAC$9K
Individual$9K
Corporate PAC$9K
Corporate PAC$9K
Corporate PAC$9K
Trade association PAC$9K
PAC$8K
Corporate PAC$8K
PAC$8K
Corporate PAC$8K
Corporate PAC$8K
Showing the 50 biggest of 921 donors. The other 871 gave $2.3M combined.
Plus $43K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.