Mike Rounds | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| United States Senator fromSouth Dakota | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 Serving with John Thune | |
| Preceded by | Tim Johnson |
| 31stGovernor of South Dakota | |
| In office January 7, 2003 – January 8, 2011 | |
| Lieutenant | Dennis Daugaard |
| Preceded by | Bill Janklow |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Daugaard |
| Member of theSouth Dakota Senate from the24th district | |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Jacquie Kelley |
| Succeeded by | Patricia de Hueck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marion Michael Rounds (1954-10-24)October 24, 1954 (age 70) Huron, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Tim Rounds (brother) |
| Education | South Dakota State University (BS) |
| Website | Senate website |
Marion Michael Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as thejuniorUnited States senator fromSouth Dakota since 2015. A member of theRepublican Party, he served as the 31stgovernor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
Rounds was raised inPierre, South Dakota. He attendedSouth Dakota State University, where he earned hisBachelor of Science degree. He was elected to theSouth Dakota Senate in 1990, representing the 24th district until 2001. Rounds ran for governor of South Dakota in2002, and after an upset victory in the Republican primary, defeatedDemocratic nomineeJim Abbott. He was reelected in2006, but wasterm limited from running for a third consecutive term in2010.
In2014, Rounds was elected to theUnited States Senate, succeeding retiring DemocratTim Johnson. He was reelected in2020 over Democratic nomineeDan Ahlers.
The eldest of 11 children, Rounds was born inHuron, South Dakota, the son of Joyce (née Reinartz) and Don Rounds.[1] He hasGerman,Belgian,Swedish andEnglish ancestry.[1] Rounds has lived inthe state capital ofPierre since he was three years old. He was named for an uncle, Marion Rounds, who was killed in the Pacific theater duringWorld War II.[2] Several members of the Rounds family have been involved in state government. His father worked at various times as state director of highway safety, a staffer for theRural Electrification Administration, and executive director of the South Dakota Petroleum Council.[3] His brotherTim Rounds was a member of theSouth Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 24, which includes Pierre, from 2003 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2021.[4][5]
Rounds attendedSouth Dakota State University inBrookings, where he earned hisBachelor of Science in political science.[2]
Rounds is a former partner in Fischer Rounds & Associates, an insurance and real estate firm with offices in Pierre,Rapid City,Mitchell,Watertown andSioux Falls.[6]
Rounds represented District 24, which was based inPierre. In 1990, he defeated incumbent state Senator Jacqueline Kelley, 53%–47%. He was reelected in 1992 (60%), 1994 (77%), 1996 (66%), and 1998 (75%).[7] Rounds had to leave the Senate in 2001 because of legislativeterm limits South Dakota voters had passed in 1992.[8]
Rounds representedHughes,Lyman,Stanley, andSully counties. In 1993, he became Senate Minority Whip. In 1995, his peers selected him to beSenate Majority Leader.[9]
As the 2002 race for governor took shape, media and political observers largely dismissed Rounds as an extreme long shot.[14] Until late 2001, then-CongressmanJohn Thune was the front-runner for the nomination. When Thune passed on the race to challenge SenatorTim Johnson, state Attorney GeneralMark Barnett and former Lieutenant GovernorSteve T. Kirby became candidates.
Rounds benefited from the heated competition between Kirby and Barnett, much of which centered on ethical concerns about Kirby's personal business investments and damaged both candidates' reputations,[15] with Barnett's campaign advertisements involving claims "so outlandish that people thought for sure that they were exaggerated or completely fabricated".[16] By staying above the fray, Rounds won the primary by 15 points.[14]
After winning theRepublican nomination, Rounds chose State SenatorDennis Daugaard ofDell Rapids as his running mate. TheirDemocratic opponents wereUniversity of South Dakota PresidentJim Abbott ofVermillion and his running mate, former State Representative Mike Wilson ofRapid City.
Rounds was elected governor on November 5, 2002. The results were as follows:[17]
TwoDemocratic candidates emerged to challenge Rounds:Jack Billion, a retired surgeon and formerstate legislator fromSioux Falls, and Dennis Wiese, the former president of the South DakotaFarmers Union. Billion easily won the nomination and selectedRapid City school board memberEric Abrahamson as his running mate.
The Rounds/Daugaard ticket was reelected on November 7, 2006. The results were as follows:[18]
Rounds served as a member of the Governors' Council at theBipartisan Policy Center.[19] He was the 2008 Chair of theMidwestern Governors Association.[20]
Rounds's 2010 Initiative established ten research centers at state-supported universities. In the program's first four years, the state's first five research centers generated an estimated $59 million in federal and private funding, with an estimated $110 million economic impact.[21]
On February 22, 2006, the state legislature of South Dakota passed an act banning all medicalabortions except those necessary to save the mother's life. Rounds signed the act on March 6 and the ban was to have taken effect on July 1, 2006, but did not, because of a court challenge. A referendum on repealing H.B. 1215 was placed on the ballot for the November 2006 statewide election due to a petition.[22] On May 30, over 38,000 signatures were filed, more than twice the 17,000 required to qualify. Voters repealed the law on November 7, 2006, the day of Rounds's reelection.[23]
During Rounds's administration, South Dakota offered green cards to foreign investors in exchange for investments in a new South Dakota beef packing plant and other economic investments through theEB-5 visa program the federal government established in 1990.[24][25] After the beef packing plant went bankrupt, questions emerged about the nature of the investments and the foreign investors. Some investors received neither their EB-5 visas nor the money back from their failed investments, with no indication as to where their money went.[26]
State officials misused funds to pay for their salaries, did not disclose that they owned companies which they gave contracts to, directed money to companies that went bankrupt and arranged for loans from unknown sources from shell companies located in tax havens.[27][28][29] In October 2014, Rounds admitted that he had approved a $1 million state loan to beef packing plant Northern Beef shortly after learning that Secretary of Tourism and State Development Richard Benda had agreed to join the company, with Benda then getting another $600,000 in state loans that was ultimately used to pay his own salary.[30][31] Benda committed suicide in October 2013, days before a possible indictment over embezzlement and grand theft charges.[32]
Of 3D-printed weapons, Rounds has said, "This is a new technology which you're not going to put back into the bottle. It is there." He has suggested creating and using new technologies, such as metal detectors that can also recognize plastic, in schools, airports and other public places.[33]
Speculation persisted that in 2014 Rounds would seek theUnited States Senate seat held byTim Johnson, aDemocrat who had served since 1997. Johnson opted not to run for reelection.[34]
On November 29, 2012, Rounds launched a campaign[35] for the seat being vacated by Johnson's retirement.[36] He won the June 2014 Republican primary, defeating four other candidates.[37] Early polls showed Rounds leading by a 2–1 margin against Democratic opponentRick Weiland. October 2014 polls showed a closer three-way race between Rounds, Weiland, and independent former SenatorLarry Pressler.[38] Independent conservative former state legislatorGordon Howie was also in the race.[39]
In November Rounds was elected with a majority of the vote. The results were:[40]
In the2020 election,Scyller Borglum, a first-term member of theSouth Dakota House of Representatives, challenged Rounds in the Republican primary. Borglum positioned herself as an ally of Donald Trump.[41] Rounds defeated Borglum, 75% to 25%.[42] He won the general election against Democratic nomineeDan Ahlers with nearly 66% of the vote.[43][44]
Rounds co-chairs the Senate AI Caucus and was one of the four members of the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group led by Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer. On May 15, 2024, the group released a report recommending actions for the federal government to take to regulate and support AI development. The report recommended $32 billion of annual funding for development of non-defense AI.[45] Rounds has introduced several bills on AI, including one establishing a national biomedical database and provide for additional regulation of AI in financial services.[46]
In February 2019, Rounds was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, enabling employers to contribute up to $5,250 to their employees' student loans as a means of granting them relief and incentivizing people to apply for jobs with employers who implement the policy.[47] In November 2024, he introduced a bill in the Senate that proposes the abolishment of the Department of Education.[48]
In 2017, Rounds was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[49] to PresidentDonald Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from theParis Agreement. According toOpenSecrets, Rounds has received over $200,000 from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.[50] Rounds supported embattledEnvironmental Protection Agency AdministratorScott Pruitt, who had come under scrutiny because of extraordinary expenditures for personal security and luxury travel, and the appearances of ethical conflicts, defending him onMeet the Press. Calling the criticism "nitpicking", he said, "I don't know how much of it is overblown and how much of it is accurate, to be honest."[51]
Rounds opposed theFIRST STEP Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill that Trump signed into law. The bill passed 87–12 on December 18, 2018.[52]
In March 2018, Rounds co-sponsored theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts againstIsrael andIsraeli settlements in theWest Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[53][54]
Rounds opposes theAffordable Care Act (Obamacare), and has voted to repeal it.[55] In 2019, he said he supported lawsuits seeking to overturn it.[56]
On January 9, 2022, Rounds said that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen fromDonald Trump: "[We] looked at over 60 different accusations made in multiple states. While there were some irregularities, there were none of the irregularities which would have risen to the point where they would have changed the vote outcome in a single state". Rounds said the election was fair, and added that Republicans should stop making arguments to the contrary: "If we simply look back and tell our people, 'Don't vote because there's cheating going on,' then we're going to put ourselves in a huge disadvantage. So, moving forward, let's focus on what it takes to win those elections. We can do that."[57] Trump responded by calling Rounds a "jerk", "crazy" and "stupid" and accused him of being "woke" for acknowledging the election results.[58]
On May 28, 2021, Rounds abstained from voting on the creation of theJanuary 6 commission.[59]
Rounds endorsed SenatorTim Scott for theRepublican nomination in the2024 United States presidential election. In an interview onMeet the Press, Rounds refused to commit to supporting the eventual Republican nominee if Scott was not nominated. Scott suspended his campaign on November 12, 2023,[60][61] and not long after, Rounds endorsed Trump.[62]
While attending South Dakota State University, Rounds met Jean Vedvei, formerly ofLake Preston, South Dakota. They married in 1978 and had four children. On November 2, 2021, Jean Rounds died at age 65, two years after she was diagnosed withcancer.[63]
Rounds is the older brother ofTim Rounds, a former member of theSouth Dakota House of Representatives.[64]
Rounds is a member of Sts. Peter and PaulCatholic Church of Pierre. He is also a member of numerous service clubs and community organizations, includingElks,Exchange Club,Knights of Columbus andDucks Unlimited.
In May 2011, Rounds's alma mater,South Dakota State University, gave him an honorary doctorate for public service.[65]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican |  Mike Rounds | 2,188 | 62.69 | |
| Republican | Kent Bowers | 1,302 | 37.31 | |
| Total votes | 3,490 | 100.00 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Mike Rounds | 4,790 | 52.54 | |
| Democratic | Jacquie Kelly (incumbent) | 4,326 | 47.46 | |
| Total votes | 9,116 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 6,591 | 59.93 | |
| Democratic | Rick Riggle | 4,406 | 40.07 | |
| Total votes | 10,997 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 8,270 | 77.35 | |
| independent (politician) | Mary Morin | 2,421 | 22.65 | |
| Total votes | 10,691 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 7,070 | 66.01 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Meyer | 3,641 | 33.99 | |
| Total votes | 9,711 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 7,374 | 74.93 | |
| Democratic | Robert Hockett | 2,467 | 25.07 | |
| Total votes | 9,841 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Mike Rounds | 49,331 | 44.34 | |
| Republican | Mark Barnett | 32,868 | 29.54 | |
| Republican | Steve T. Kirby | 29,065 | 26.12 | |
| Total votes | 111,264 | 100.00 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Mike Rounds | 189,920 | 56.77 | |
| Democratic | Jim Abbott | 140,263 | 41.92 | |
| independent (politician) | James Carlson | 2,393 | 0.72 | |
| Libertarian | Nathan Barton | 1,983 | 0.59 | |
| Total votes | 334,559 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 206,990 | 61.69 | |
| Democratic | Jack Billion | 121,226 | 36.13 | |
| Constitution | Steven Willis | 4,010 | 1.20 | |
| Libertarian | Tom Gerber | 3,282 | 0.98 | |
| Total votes | 335,508 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Mike Rounds | 41,377 | 55.54 | |
| Republican | Larry Rhoden | 13,593 | 18.25 | |
| Republican | Stace Nelson | 13,179 | 17.69 | |
| Republican | Annette Bosworth | 4,283 | 5.75 | |
| Republican | Jason Ravnsborg | 2,066 | 2.77 | |
| Total votes | 74,498 | 100.00 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Mike Rounds | 140,741 | 50.37 | |
| Democratic | Rick Weiland | 82,456 | 29.51 | |
| independent (politician) | Larry Pressler | 47,741 | 17.09 | |
| independent (politician) | Gordon Howie | 8,474 | 3.03 | |
| Total votes | 279,412 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 70,365 | 75.23 | |
| Republican | Scyller Borglum | 23,164 | 24.77 | |
| Total votes | 93,529 | 100.00 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Mike Rounds (incumbent) | 276,232 | 65.74 | |
| Democratic | Dan Ahlers | 143,987 | 34.26 | |
| Total votes | 420,219 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Janklow | Republican nominee forGovernor of South Dakota 2002,2006 | Succeeded by Dennis Daugaard |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromSouth Dakota (Class 2) 2014,2020 | Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of South Dakota 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from South Dakota 2015–present Served alongside:John Thune | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas United States Senator fromWest Virginia | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator fromSouth Dakota since January 3, 2015 | Succeeded byas United States Senator fromMontana |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 53rd | Succeeded by |
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