Brookings, South Dakota sample ballot 2026

David Biteler was born at Brookings Hospital and currently serves as Assistant Sheriff, with more than 30 years in public safety and 20 years as a certified law enforcement officer, all in Brookings County, per the Brookings Beacon. He is a combat veteran with 22 years in the Army National Guard, retiring as a Sergeant First Class, per the Brookings Beacon.

Mike Rounds is South Dakota's sitting U.S. senator, per the campaign site. He was born in Huron, grew up in Pierre and is the oldest of eleven children, per the campaign site. He is a former business owner and state senator who served as South Dakota's 31st governor from 2003 to 2011, per the campaign site. The campaign site says South Dakotans elected him to the U.S. Senate in 2014, where he serves on the Armed Services, Appropriations, Banking, Indian Affairs and Select Intelligence committees.

• Voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax-and-spending package, which passed the Senate 50-50 in July 2025, with the vice president casting the tie-breaking vote. Supported
• Voted yes on the Laken Riley Act, expanding federal detention of certain immigrants charged with theft or violent crimes, which passed the Senate 64-35 in January 2025. Supported

Brian Bengs is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in South Dakota, per the campaign site. He is a Navy veteran, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and attorney, an educator and a former national park ranger, per the campaign site. He says he is running on the cowboy code of the West, per the campaign site.

Larry Rhoden is South Dakota's incumbent governor and the Republican nominee for a full term, winning the state's first-ever gubernatorial primary runoff on July 28 with about 71% of the vote over Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden. A rancher and former lieutenant governor from Meade County, he became governor in January 2025 when Kristi Noem joined the federal cabinet, and faces Democrat Dan Ahlers in the November 3 general.

Dan Ahlers is the Democratic nominee for South Dakota governor, a former state senator and representative from Dell Rapids, small-business owner, and executive director of the state Democratic Party who was the party's 2020 U.S. Senate nominee. His campaign emphasizes putting legislative and business experience to work on costs, education, and health care.

Frank Kloucek, of Scotland, is a lifelong farmer who served eleven consecutive terms in the South Dakota House and Senate beginning with the 1990 election, through a 2012 Senate re-election bid, per KELOLAND. As a legislator he sponsored utility related proposals including tax incentives for energy production, a study of wind power, and bonding requirements for hydrocarbon pipelines, per the same source. He is now running for the Public Utilities Commission on a platform focused on utility rates and consumer protection, per his campaign site.

Don Haggar, of Sioux Falls, represented the city in the South Dakota House of Representatives for three terms and served as speaker pro tem for the 2017-2018 term before leaving the Legislature in 2017 to become the South Dakota state director of Americans for Prosperity, per KELOLAND. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota and has worked as a registered lobbyist for several clients, per the same source. He is now campaigning for the Public Utilities Commission, per his campaign site.

Raeann Mettler, of Spearfish, holds a PhD in Natural Sciences from Black Hills State University and spent about a decade teaching at Black Hills State University, the South Dakota School of Mines, and Crazy Horse Memorial University, per the South Dakota Democratic Party. She now works as a research specialist for Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc. in Indigenous public health and wellness and previously directed a STEAM education camp program for youth, per the same source. A third generation South Dakotan raised in Rapid City, she has also run for Spearfish City Council and the Spearfish School Board, per her campaign site.

Brock Greenfield is a lifelong rural South Dakotan who has served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and Senate for the past 22 years, according to his campaign site. He has served 12 years on the Appropriations Committee and 4 years as Senate President Pro Tempore, per the site.

Tony Venhuizen is South Dakota's incumbent lieutenant governor and Governor Larry Rhoden's running mate for the November 3 ballot, per the Rhoden campaign. A former state representative and longtime chief of staff to Governors Dennis Daugaard and Kristi Noem, he also chairs the Rhoden campaign. Under a 2025 law, governor candidates formally designate their lieutenant governor picks by August 11. No campaign website was found as of September 12, 2026.

Steven McCleerey is a farmer from rural Sisseton and Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers's running mate for lieutenant governor, named to the ticket on August 12, 2026, per South Dakota Searchlight. He served six years in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2020, including as assistant House minority leader, and is vice president of the Coteau des Prairies Health Care Systems board of directors, per South Dakota Searchlight. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.

Russell is the longtime State's Attorney for Fall River County and Oglala Lakota County, per the campaign site. Per the campaign site, he is the Republican nominee for South Dakota attorney general.

Heather Baxter is a state representative from Rapid City, a fitness center owner, and the Republican nominee for South Dakota secretary of state, winning 59% of delegates at the June 27 state convention over incumbent Monae Johnson. A Freedom Caucus member who carried election bills as a freshman legislator, she campaigns on hand-counted paper ballots and election-security reforms, per her campaign announcement and South Dakota Searchlight convention coverage.

Terrence Davis is a former state trooper who served in both Tennessee and South Dakota and the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, chosen at the party's June 6 state convention. He holds a criminal justice degree and a master's in public policy and is pursuing a doctorate in law and policy, per the state party's nominee announcement. His campaign site emphasizes secure and accessible voting, especially for rural communities, and modernizing the office's services.

Lesnar is a Libertarian who previously worked as a compliance officer at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, per the campaign site. Per the campaign site, she describes herself as a scientist and is running for South Dakota secretary of state.

Melissa Hull has been treasury manager in the South Dakota treasurer's office since 2019 and is the Republican nominee for state treasurer, winning 81% of delegates at the June 27 state convention. A lifelong South Dakotan, she campaigns on her day-to-day operational experience inside the office, per her campaign site.

Margaret Kuipers is a lifelong South Dakotan with experience in farming, emergency medical services, emergency management, law enforcement, health care and business ownership, per her campaign site. She served 14 years as treasurer for the South Dakota Emergency Medical Services Association and has worked as a treasurer for several federal campaigns, per the campaign site. She is running for South Dakota State Treasurer, per the campaign site.

Catherine Barranco is a Sioux Falls economist who formerly investigated financial fraud at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Republican nominee for state auditor, winning 53% of delegates on the first round at the June 27 state convention. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics, is a small-business owner and past president of the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women. She entered the race after her husband, Sioux Falls City Councilor David Barranco, stepped away from his campaign following a cancer diagnosis, per The Dakota Scout.