SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Republican Senator Mike Rounds says a formal announcement regarding his reelection plans could be happening later this year.
In an X post, President Donald Trump has already thrown his support behind the U.S. Senator from South Dakota for reelection, calling him a strong advocate for the state.
“I was surprised to get the phone call from the president,” Sen. Mike Rounds said. “It was a welcome surprise, and I am very pleased to accept his recommendation.”
Rounds has yet to make any formal announcement that he’ll actually be running for reelection, and he says he doesn’t plan to do so until most likely this fall.
“In the meantime, that means I can work just directly on issues and not have to worry about being a publicly announced nominee for re-election,” Rounds said.
He adds this time allows him to focus on other issues including pushing to unfreeze education funds. Rounds is one of about nine U.S. Senators asking those funds be released.
“We know that there are still some more to go yet. We’re hoping that the office of OMB expedites their review. I think what they’re going to find out is that these are good funds. There’s nothing wacky about them,” Rounds said. “These are items that that our schools, some of our after school programs and so forth rely on.”
Rounds said he also supports a rescissions bill, which has about 9 billion dollars in program cuts. He said he secured a deal with the Interior Department to transfer some funding to several Native American radio stations.
“I made it very clear that I couldn’t support the package without fixing it for those Native American radio stations, because really, they’re in really rural areas, and it’s about 80 to 85 percent of their funding across the board. They never would have survived that,” Rounds said.
Programs like SDPB told KELOLAND News it’s ‘devastated’ by cuts to their sector. The senator says they wouldn’t experience as harsh an impact as others.
“I think it’s probably closer to about 20 percent of their funding as opposed to the 80 percent that the Native American stations had. That’s the reason why I focused on those particular ones,” Rounds said. “Now, a lot of that comes down to whether or not people in South Dakota want that to continue on and whether or not they will donate funds to make up that 20 percent difference.”
After Trump’s endorsement Monday, two declared candidates in the 2026 U.S. Senate race sent KEOLAND News statements.
Democrat Julian Beaudion and independent Brian Bengs have each raised more than $70,000 in the race.
“When President Trump wanted tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, Mike followed orders,” Bengs said in a statement to KELOLAND News about Trump’s endorsement of Rounds. “When that package required taking health care funding away from South Dakotans, Mike followed orders. When the White House said to ignore the Epstein Files, Mike followed orders. Mike Rounds excels at following orders without question so it’s no surprise the President is rewarding him even as he sells us out. If elected, my bosses will be the regular South Dakotans Mike betrayed and not the White House—whether Democrat or Republican.”
“This endorsement is not shocking but it does show just how out of touch Rounds and Trump are with South Dakotans,” Beaudion said in a statement to KELOLAND News about the presidential endorsement. “They want to pull money from our schools, silence South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and slash the budgets that keep our communities safe. That puts politics first and our state last. South Dakota needs a leader who backs words with action. I served as a State Trooper, built a family business, and worked with nonprofits across our state. I will always put South Dakota first.”
