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December 15th , 2025 Len’s Political Note #774 Independent Brian Bengs South Dakota US Senate
2026 General Election
Brian Bengs
Here is a phenomenon worth watching. West of the Mississippi River there are three loosely associated Independent candidates running for the US Senate. They communicate and provide each other support. Their candidacies could mean something.
You may know about Dan Osborn of Nebraska. Home after a career as a US Navy mechanic, he had become a local labor leader and led a strike against Kellogg’s. After the strike was settled, he ran as an independent for the US Senate in 2024 and gained national attention. He lost to the Republican incumbent 53.2% to 46.5%. Dan Osborn is trying again in 2026. Osborn raised $1.35 million in the 2024 campaign and is starting the 2026 campaign with $500,000 dollars.
The Nebraska Democrats have tried to help out. They did not run a US Senate candidate in 2024 and appear not to be running a candidate again in 2026. Dan Osborn came from a family with some familiarity with politics, he had an uncle who was a county executive. DONATE to Dan Osborn’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #765
Todd Achilles of Idaho is another member of that triumvirate. He is a former Democrat appointed by a Republican governor to an open state legislative seat. He had been a tank commander in the military. A graduate of Claremont McKenna, he has an MBA from the University of Washington and an MPA from University of California, Berkely. Home, he taught public policy, worked on behalf of veterans and advocated for them. Unlike Nebraska, Idaho Democrats are running a candidate – former non-profit head and relatively frequent candidate David Roth. DONATE to the Todd Achilles campaign.
Today’s piece is about Brian Bengs, the independent candidate for the US Senate from South Dakota. Like all of us, Brian Bengs and the other two men live in a time dominated by Donald Trump. Trump’s toxic bigotry leads him to seek South African whites as refugees, to deport immigrants who are not at all the violent criminals he promised to target, and has turned his opposition to DEI into widespread rooting out of Blacks and women from positions of responsibility in the federal government. He has given racists and misogynists reason to believe that he is on their side. He has convinced a fair number of people that white men are discriminated against.
Many of the potential constituents from these rural states are uneasy with the Democratic Party and its constituents. They worry that these constituents – the poor, minorities, women, gays, the handicapped, non-Christians, gain unfair advantage. Even though the people in these rural states have sometimes been attracted to referenda that reflect progressive ideas, when considering political parties they are not yet convinced that “raising all boats” helps them. Independent candidates who they recognize as like them can be the most attractive alternative to toxic bigotry.
Like the two independents currently in the US Senate, these three independents are from sparsely populated, overwhelmingly white states. All three are white men, Christians, too. They are heterosexual with wives and children. Each had a substantial time commitment in the military.
These three complement the Democrats. They are progressive or progressive enough. They can attract Democratic voters. They can attract independent voters. They can even attract Republicans who are fed up with the toxic leadership that has spread from Trump to much of the rest of the Republican Party.
Brian Bengs grew up in Iowa. His high school was so small, it was closed after he and his class graduated. He joined the Navy, came home to get a BA at Iowa State and a JD from the University of Iowa. Then he returned to the military, joining the Air Force to become a part of JAG and eventually retiring as a Lt. Colonel. He spent his last years in the military as legal advisor and operational law instructor at the NATO School at Oberammergau. He continued studying while he served. He earned an MA in history from Louisiana Tech and an MLL in international law from George Washington. After his military service, he taught at Northern State University in South Dakota and served as a US Parks Ranger
Brian Bengs tried a Senate run once before in South Dakota. In 2022, he became a Democrat for the election campaign and returned to being an independent as soon as the race was over. He ran against now Majority Leader of the United State Senate John Thune and got clobbered. Thune defeated Brian Bengs 69.6% – 29.1%.
Brian Bengs did not retire from the military with political ambition. He ran for the US Senate in 2022 because he was distressed with what he saw as Senator John Thune’s complacency about the January 6 insurrection. He became a candidate for 2026 prodded by Donald Trump firing Park Rangers and damaging National Parks.
Brian Bengs expressed his political views in an interview prior to the 2022 election. He described the principal problem facing the country is the corrupting effect that money has in the political system. He said that the influence of the wealthy has led to an “uncompromising pursuit of lower taxes by and for the affluent” which has created both deficits and inadequate funding for “public goods” such as schools, law enforcement, and essential public works like maintaining roads. Brian Bengs warned that underfunding the government has led the United States to fall behind in global competition.
Brian Bengs shares the expectation that Americans are at their best when they do things on their own. For 2026, he has added to his website a Right to Repair, perhaps drawn from Dan Osborn’s playbook. The next serious problem the country is facing, he said, was the probable impact of what we now know as Artificial Intelligence. From driverless tractors to robotic meat companies to fast food restaurants that rely on a minimal number of workers, Brian Bengs foresaw a time when half the country’s jobs might be eliminated.
Brian Bengs pointed to a South Dakota popular referendum vote that would have provided $100 in campaign donation vouchers to every registered voter as one kind of solution to the reliance on so much political money coming from the wealthy and from corporations. Of course, he noted, the South Dakota legislature repealed that voucher plan as quickly as it could. Though he has argued for a return to progressive taxation he also suggested we consider the kind of value-added tax that most European countries have — describing VAT as “the best possibility of raising revenue.” He does not say it, but advocacy for a VAT is also a responsible way to get on the bandwagon for reducing the size of the IRS.
Brian Bengs set out a fairly complete vision in 2022 that works for his 2026 campaign. He reframed the clean energy issue as a matter of national security. He urged criminal background checks for all gun purchasers and Red Flag laws because they were relevant to South Dakota where gun violence was increasing. He argued for police departments to plan to address people having a mental health crisis with differently trained personnel than those who respond to violent crimes. He argued for a constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to privacy that would ensure that women have the right to choose an abortion. Finally, he opposed partisan gerrymandering and expressed support for South Dakota and other states to pass, through popular referendums, campaign finance reform and other efforts to achieve greater political fairness.
In his 2026 campaign website, Brian Bengs has a section he calls “What I Stand for.” That section is separate from his policy issues. He describes with appreciation the chivalry code of Medieval Knights and the Japanese Samurai Code, but, for himself and for his potential constituents, he describes an American Code of the West. Perhaps with a touch of hopefulness, he says the American Code of the West is characterized by integrity, loyalty, perseverance, and respect for others.
Usually, I write these pieces with the intention of urging each of you to donate to Democratic candidates for whom your donations will make a difference. For the 2026 election, it is possible that in South Dakota a donation to independent Brian Bengs’ campaign would make a difference. DONATE to his campaign.
Democratic candidates for the US Senate for whom your donation could make a difference. Remember, we need to defend the vulnerable Democratic seats and flip at least four Republican seats. Because today’s piece is about a version of the American ideal candidate,
Democratic Seats to Defend.
Georgia: Incumbent Jon Ossoff –. DONATE. See Len’s Political note #713 He was a documentary film maker who focused on the abuse of power.
Michigan: Congresswoman Haley Stevens. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #763. She participated in Barack Obama’s rescue of the American economy.
New Hampshire: Congressman Chris Pappas DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #743 From a family that has been an important part of New Hampshire’s tourist economy.
Seats to Flip:
North Carolina: Former Governor Roy Cooper DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #744. A thoroughly popular and effective governor,
Ohio: Former US Senator Sherrod Brown DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #750 A more than effective advocate for veterans, for unions, and for blue collar workers.
Maine: Two potential candidates
Governor Janet Mills – She has demonstrated her ability to effectively oppose Donald Trump
Graham Platner. – Anti-establishment and angry, he has attracted a nearly unstoppable, young and passionate group of supporters.
Iowa: Three potential candidates
Nathan Sage – Anti-establishment head of a local Chamber of Commerce.
Josh Turek – State Rep and Special Olympics basketball player, born with spina bifida
Zach Wahls, — State Senator, active supporter of the LGBTQ community and son of two Lesbian mothers
Texas:
Colin Allred – Ex US Congressman, former civil rights attorney and NFL player.
James Talarico – State Rep whose youth and articulateness in person and on paper creates a sense that he could be a Texas version of Zohran Mamdani
Candidates who may be needed to gain a Republican Senate
Alaska: former Congresswoman Mary Peltola is a Native American whose absence from Congress has somehow given her a near iconic status. We do not know what she will run for.
Florida: Former School Board Member Jennifer Jenkins, she founded Educated. We Stand after ousting the founder of Moms for Liberty. DONATE
Idaho: Todd Achilles Discussed above. DONATE
Mississippi; District Attorney Scott Colom is a Mississippi Black man. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #764
Nebraska: Independent Dan Osborn DONATE See Len’s Political Note #765 See discussion above.
South Carolina:
Pediatrician Annie Andrews, with a passion for a different kind of South Carolina
College administrator Brandon Brown a popular and effective administrator in an HBCU, a Black man in a state where Blacks predominate in the Dem primary.
