Brian Bengs
September 26, 2026 · Newsletter
Check out the new ad!
If you want to understand any problem in America, you need to look at who profits from that problem, not at who suffers from that problem.
— Dr. Amos Wilson
During my 26 years in the military, one of my coolest jobs was serving as the federal ethics advisor for the Air Force Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are amazing, so there are many external interests trying to contribute to pilots. My job was to determine what was above board and what crossed the line into unethical.
That experience is what makes me so upset about Big Money in politics. I can see the same exchanges happening that I worked to prevent in the Air Force JAG Corps. Money changes hands, and the system realigns itself in favor of whoever gave the biggest campaign check. However, our campaign finance system considers it all legal.
It’s so central to my campaign that we made a whole TV ad about it. It’s called “50 dollars.” Check it out below (or with this link if the video doesn’t load: 50 dollars).
I see the influence of Big Money in our politics as the single issue that threads through almost every other problem regular Americans face. Our healthcare system is broken because Big Money donates to politicians who will keep it that way. Big Ag gives to politicians to keep the industry in its favor. Big Tech is actively trying to buy its way into South Dakota by funding local, state, and federal races. When I’m out on the trail, that is the number one issue I hear.
From the very beginning, this campaign has been about giving South Dakotans a true voice in the U.S. Senate. There’s just 4 days left until our EOQ deadline, and we need all the help we can get to keep ads like the one above running statewide. If 100 people can chip in $30 today, it will help us close the polling gap and deliver a win in November. Thank you.
Chip in here to support the campaign!
Wherever there’s an issue regular folks are banging the drum against, there’s a lobby with “Big” in front of it paying to keep it that way. It’s legalized corruption, and it needs to stop.
My opponent sits on the Senate Banking Committee, and the Securities, Insurance, and Investment subcommittee. What a coincidence that his biggest donors are in the Finance, Real Estate, and Investment (FIRE) sector! My opponent is co-chair of the Senate AI Caucus. What a coincidence that Big Tech and Big AI have given him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and are spending hundreds of thousands more in South Dakota!
There is no coincidence here. My opponent is a career politician running for re-election. When he gets the big checks from wealthy donors or special interests, he stands in line for whatever they want. The campaign finance system says there’s no quid pro quo, but we know better, don’t we? Not only do we know better, but we must demand better from our representatives.
Why do we hold the lowest E1 going into basic training to a higher standard than our politicians? Big Money wants to keep it that way, that’s why. The better question is are we going to allow this literal double standard to continue? No, we won’t.
When I’m elected South Dakota’s Independent Senator, I will fight to end legalized bribery and deliver power back into the hands of regular people.
Thank you for reading.
Brian L. Bengs, Lt Col (Ret)
Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate
We’re coming up on a crucial FEC deadline, but we still have a ways to go before we hit our goal. The polling has the race at neck-and-neck, and if we’re going to keep ads like this running through Election Day, then I’m going to need all the support I can get. If 100 of the folks reading this could chip in $30, it would go a long way to ensure my message reaches as many South Dakotans as possible. Thank you.