Independent Senate candidate Brian Bengs, a retired military prosecutor, former U.S. Air Force Academy instructor and former Wind Cave National Park ranger, is making the case that South Dakota needs a senator willing to break from what he calls the corrupting influence of money in Washington.
In an opinion piece published by Fox News, Bengs said he is running against Republican Sen. Mike Rounds because he believes self-interest and big-money influence are working against ordinary South Dakotans. He said the values he was raised with in a small rural town, by a father who worked as a machinist, are being overridden by political ambition and wealthy donors.
Bengs pointed to a report that one of Rounds’ top advisers, who draws a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary, has also worked as a lobbyist for Meta. Bengs said the adviser, a former Rounds campaign manager, lobbied at the South Dakota state capitol on issues and then advised Rounds on those same issues on the same day.
“There ought to be a law prohibiting that sort of thing,” Bengs wrote.
Bengs said that if elected, the first bill he would introduce would ban all lobbying by congressional staff. His second priority, he said, would be term limits, which he argues are necessary because long tenures in Washington erode officials’ connection to the people they represent.
Bengs also cited a report that Rounds spends more taxpayer money on private jet travel than any other member of the Senate. He said he was not trying to disparage Rounds personally, calling him “a good man,” but argued that the culture in Washington needs to change regardless of the individuals in office.
Policy differences
Bengs wrote that he agreed with President Donald Trump’s campaign promises of “no new wars” and lowering costs for Americans, but said those promises have not been kept. He pointed to gas prices over $4.00 a gallon and rising grocery costs, including for beef raised by South Dakota ranchers, who he said now compete with imported beef that isn’t labeled to let consumers distinguish it from American product.
He also said tariffs have made it harder for Americans to buy Indian motorcycles, which his brother helps assemble, despite promises that tariffs would strengthen American manufacturing.
Bengs criticized Rounds for voting in favor of military action regarding Iran every time the opportunity arose, for supporting the tariffs Bengs says are hurting South Dakota’s economy, and for voting for what Bengs described as the largest health care cuts in memory, which he said were paired with tax breaks for companies building data centers. He cited reporting from Wired that Rounds has received more campaign contributions from data center-tied interests than from donors within South Dakota itself.
Bengs also noted that Rounds voted for a law eliminating country-of-origin labeling requirements for meat sold in grocery stores, and said Rounds now says he wants to restore those labeling rules.
Positioning as an independent
Bengs said he is not running as either an anti-Trump or pro-Trump candidate. He said he disagrees with parts of the political left as well, calling proposals to “defund the police” or “abolish prisons” insane, and saying he found former President Joe Biden’s handling of border security unacceptable.
Bengs, who also served in the Navy before the Air Force, said he is running to put South Dakota’s interests first and is willing to work with officials of any political affiliation when it benefits the state. He said his experience as an ethics advisor in the Air Force taught him it isn’t his place to judge people by their politics, but that he does see it as his responsibility to challenge a system he believes won’t reform itself.
