The Brian Bengs for U.S. Senate campaign released its first-quarter fundraising report Friday (April 17, 2026).
Bengs– who is running as an Independent– raised more than $235,000, powered by 7,300 individual contributions with an average donation of just $29, highlighting a surge of grassroots momentum driven by thousands of small-dollar donors across South Dakota and the country. This brings the campaign’s total fundraising for the cycle to over $560,000.
The Bengs campaign says this is the most raised by any non-Republican candidate since Tim Johnson nearly 20 years ago. The campaign has outraised the Q1 totals of former Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin in 2010, Rick Weiland’s 2014 campaign, and former Senator Larry Pressler’s 2014 campaign.
“This campaign belongs to the people,” said Bengs. “We’re proving that you don’t need corporate PAC money to build a competitive, people-powered movement. When thousands of folks chip in what they can, it adds up to something powerful.”
Bengs emphasized that the campaign’s growing base of support reflects frustration with a political system dominated by Big Money and disconnected from working families, farmers, and rural communities.
“South Dakotans are tired of being an afterthought while corporate interests call the shots,” Bengs added. “Our campaign is showing there’s another way—one where regular people have a voice, and where leadership is accountable to them.”
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