Candidate · November 3, 2026
Brian L Bengs
On the ballot for U.S. Senate · South Dakota
- raised through Oct 14, 2026
- $1.9M
- cash on hand
- $70K
- issues with public statements
- 14
- outside spending for or against
- $1.6M
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | U.S. Senate · South Dakota1, |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | IND1 |
| Status | Challenger |
| Also on the ballot |
|
§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Brian Bengs enlisted in the U.S. Navy, later served as an Air Force attorney, military prosecutor and ethics advisor, and retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel.3,
Why they say they're running
His campaign website says he decided to run after cuts hit the National Park Service, where he worked, and that he is running as an independent to put South Dakotans ahead of party politics.3,
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websitebengsforsouthdakota.com3,
5 - Facebookfacebook.com/BBengs19703
- X (Twitter)x.com/BrianBengs3
- Instagraminstagram.com/brianbengs3
- Threadsthreads.com/@brianbengs3
- TikToktiktok.com/@brianbengsforsd3
- Blueskybsky.app/profile/thebigbengs.bsky.social3
- Othersubstack.com/@bengsforsouthdakota3
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Elections and Government Reform
His campaign website calls for a constitutional amendment to end the unlimited corporate political spending allowed by the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.4
- Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
- Keep spending unlimited but require groups to name their major donors
- Keep current rules
- Raise or remove limits on donations to candidates and parties
His campaign website says members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from buying, selling or holding individual stocks while in office.4
- Ban members and their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks
- Ban members themselves from trading individual stocks
- No ban; keep the reporting rules, with stronger penalties for late reports
His campaign website says no senator should serve more than two terms (12 years) and no representative more than six terms (12 years), and he pledges to serve no more than two terms himself.4
- Shorter limits, such as three House terms (six years) and two Senate terms (12 years)
- Longer limits, such as 12 to 18 years in each chamber
- No term limits
His campaign website supports federal redistricting reform that would take the drawing of congressional maps out of the hands of partisans.4
- Have independent commissions, not lawmakers, draw district lines
- Let legislatures draw the lines, but only once a decade after the census
- Let legislatures draw and redraw the lines when they choose
Energy and Climate
His campaign website calls for halting construction of new data centers and says he will oppose legislation that does not give local communities a workable way to say no to data center projects.4
- Encourage new data centers with tax breaks and faster approvals
- Require data centers to pay the full cost of the power plants and lines they need
- Pause or limit new data centers
Foreign Policy and Defense
His campaign website calls for getting out of the war with Iran and says that as a senator he would not have voted to enter it or to continue it.4
Taxes and Budget
His campaign website says the wealthiest Americans should again pay their fair share, as in the 1960s, and that taxes can be lowered for small businesses and working people.4
His campaign website says balancing the federal budget and paying down the national debt are imperatives, and it attributes about half of the debt to tax cuts passed since 2000.4
Health Care
His campaign website calls for a complete overhaul of American health care to lower costs and improve access, through what it describes as a five-stage process.4
Immigration
His campaign website says immigration reform must include strong border security and increased legal immigration, which it says are needed for economic growth and to keep Social Security strong.4
- Admit more immigrants, such as by adding work visas or clearing family backlogs
- Keep green cards and work visas near recent levels
- Admit fewer immigrants than in recent years
- Pause most new legal immigration for a time
Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties
His campaign website says Congress must impose enforceable ethics standards on the Supreme Court.4
- Pass a law setting a binding ethics code, with outside review of complaints and recusal decisions
- Keep ethics rules in the court's hands, but have it add its own way to enforce them
- Keep the court's current code
His campaign website supports term limits for Supreme Court justices and says Congress can achieve the same result without a constitutional amendment.4
- Set fixed terms, such as 18 years
- Keep lifetime appointments
Abortion and Reproductive Health
His campaign website says he respects a woman's right to choose and supports restricting abortion after the point of viability, with exceptions for the life or health of the mother.4
- Legal only to save the pregnant woman's life
- Legal only in cases of rape or incest, or to save the woman's life
- Legal early in pregnancy only, up to a limit such as 6, 12 or 15 weeks
- Legal until about 24 weeks, as under Roe v. Wade, and later to protect the woman's life or health
- Legal at every stage, with no limit based on weeks of pregnancy
Veterans
His campaign website opposes privatizing VA health care, noting that most of the VA's recent health care budget went to private contractors, and says staff shortages and cuts are delaying veterans' care.4
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.
Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.7
| Raised | $1,855,763 |
|---|---|
| Spent | $1,786,055 |
| Cash on hand | $69,708 |
Where the money came from
Outside spending
Groups spending independently reported $670,836 supporting and $925,339 opposing Brian L Bengs this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.8
| Group | Supporting | Opposing |
|---|---|---|
| SOUTH DAKOTA CONSERVATIVE PAC | — | $925,339 |
| Retire Career Politicians | $642,836 | — |
| United Independents Campaign Fund | $16,000 | — |
| FORWARD PARTY VICTORY FUND INC | $12,000 | — |
Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.
§5Financial disclosures
Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.
Senate candidates and senators file with the Senate's own disclosure system, which asks each visitor to agree to its terms before searching, so we can't link straight to a filing. You can search for Brian L Bengs at efdsearch.senate.gov9.