Special thanks to the IBEW 426 for offering up their space for us to conduct this interview.
For this installment of Intellectual Dissatisfaction, I spoke with Julian Beaudion, a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in South Dakota. The conversation focused on his personal background, his campaign priorities, how he would approach bipartisan work in Washington, and what he believes South Dakota voters should expect from a senator.
Beaudion introduced himself as a Louisiana native who has lived in South Dakota for nearly 20 years with his wife and their three daughters. He described service as a throughline in his life: his father was a teacher, his mother was a nurse, and Beaudion spent 13 and a half years in uniform as a South Dakota state trooper. He and his wife also own Swamp Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen in Sioux Falls. Beaudion emphasized family, neighbors, and community as central motivations for his campaign.
He also highlighted his wife’s community work, including her involvement with ACE Academy, a school he said focuses on students who may not be well-served in traditional public school settings. He also described their family’s annual Thanksgiving meal effort, saying they have helped feed hundreds of people each year.
Why his campaign website does not yet have a detailed issues page
One of the first questions focused on the lack of a detailed issues platform on Beaudion’s campaign website. Beaudion said that was intentional. According to him, the campaign has been holding town halls across South Dakota before finalizing its policy platform.
He said he does not want to build a platform based only on his own opinions, but on what he hears from voters. “Everything comes back to affordability,” he said, while identifying three major issue areas he said have emerged from those conversations: education, health care, and housing.
Education and the Department of Education
Beaudion said education is one of his top priorities. He criticized Senator Mike Rounds for supporting efforts to dismantle the federal Department of Education, arguing that South Dakota families are concerned about what that would mean for rural schools, special education programs, gifted programs, after-school care, and school funding more broadly.
When asked to name a bill he would introduce or co-sponsor, or a federal program he would protect, Beaudion pointed to protecting the Department of Education. He argued that federal education funding should not simply be moved into other departments and said the federal government should reinvest more directly in children and schools.
He also criticized block grants as a temporary solution, arguing that they may appear helpful in the short term but leave rural school districts vulnerable after the funding runs out.
Health care, rural hospitals, and universal coverage
Beaudion described himself as a supporter of universal health care and said access to care is especially urgent in rural South Dakota. He argued that rural hospitals are under pressure, that women in some rural and reservation communities must travel long distances for specialized care, and that health care policy should focus not only on coverage but also on sustaining rural health systems.
When asked whether his health care position would mainly expand coverage for patients or reduce costs for rural hospitals, Beaudion said both questions are connected. He argued that the role of insurance companies needs more scrutiny and said rural hospitals often rely on traveling nurses and physicians, which can increase costs.
He also pointed to workforce development as part of the solution. Beaudion said he supports programs that help students train in South Dakota and then remain in the state to work, including tuition-reimbursement-style incentives tied to service in South Dakota communities.
On insurance companies, Beaudion said he believes they are currently a major roadblock to universal health care because government has allowed them too much power. He said Congress should establish stronger limits on what insurers can and cannot do.
Housing and affordability
Beaudion repeatedly returned to affordability as the central issue in the race. On housing, he argued that South Dakota needs policies tailored to specific communities rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. He specifically said housing needs on or near reservations may look different from housing needs in Sioux Falls or other urban areas.
Asked what he would prioritize immediately in the Senate on affordability, Beaudion pointed to agriculture and the farm bill. He called agriculture South Dakota’s top economic driver and said a comprehensive farm bill should be a major focus for the state’s senators.
Tariffs, agriculture, and family farms
On tariffs, Beaudion said he believes they can be used strategically, but he criticized tariffs that he said are harming South Dakota farmers, especially tariffs involving Canada and agricultural equipment supply chains. He argued that tariffs affecting parts and machinery could raise costs for farmers and ranchers who depend on expensive equipment.
He said he could support a tariff on China at a reduced rate, framing it as part of a broader effort to protect family farms from foreign purchase or control. Beaudion claimed that agricultural bankers in South Dakota expect a significant number of family farms to face bankruptcy pressure and argued that policy should include stopgaps to prevent distressed farms from being sold off in ways that hurt South Dakota producers.
“Taking power back” and working across the aisle
At the No Kings protest, Beaudion had said his campaign was not only about opposing something, but about people taking power back. Asked what that means in Senate terms, he framed it less around a single reform issue and more around restoring relationships, representation, and practical problem-solving.
Beaudion said he would look forward to working with Senator John Thune if elected, arguing that South Dakota would benefit from having a Democrat and Republican working together in the Senate. He said bipartisan cooperation should focus on issues such as the farm bill, SNAP, Medicaid, health care affordability, housing, and lowering everyday costs.
He also said he is not interested in running a campaign centered solely on opposition to Donald Trump or Mike Rounds. Instead, he said he wants to campaign “for the people of South Dakota.”
Republican and independent voters
Asked which Republican or independent voters he believes are persuadable, Beaudion resisted labeling voters by ideology. He said the “average South Dakotan” is open to common-sense policies.
He connected that answer to his law enforcement background, saying that as a state trooper he interacted with people in moments of crisis and that no one asked whether he was a Democrat or Republican before accepting help. He argued that voters are now asking whether a policy will benefit them, not simply which party it comes from.
Criminal justice, reentry, and second chances
One community-submitted question asked whether reentry programs for formerly incarcerated South Dakotans would be a major focus of Beaudion’s Senate work. Beaudion noted that parole and probation are usually handled at the state and judicial levels rather than by Congress, but said rehabilitation should be taken seriously.
He said he supports second chances, but argued they must come with meaningful resources and public safety accountability. He called for stronger partnerships among nonprofits, law enforcement, formerly incarcerated people, community members, and policymakers.
Asked directly whether he would support more federal funding for job training, housing, addiction treatment, mental health care, and identification access before release, Beaudion said yes. He said he would be willing to introduce or co-sponsor federal legislation supporting those kinds of resources.
Native communities and tribal sovereignty
On Native communities in South Dakota, Beaudion said government must “move at the speed of trust.” He said there is deep distrust between Native communities and local, state, and federal governments, and argued that any serious policy approach must begin by respecting tribal sovereignty.
He also called for a recommitment to treaty obligations, saying that government should acknowledge and apologize for broken promises to tribes. He connected that issue to current disputes over mining and tribal land, saying the government’s responsibility is to take care of people rather than fight against them.
Why he believes Mike Rounds should be replaced
Asked to identify two or three decisions by Senator Mike Rounds that explain why Beaudion believes he should be replaced, Beaudion named two decisions and one broader pattern of “indecision.”
First, he criticized Rounds’ support for dismantling the Department of Education. Second, he criticized Rounds’ posture toward the United States Postal Service, saying South Dakotans rely heavily on the postal system and that weakening or privatizing it would be irresponsible.
On the broader point, Beaudion argued that Rounds has shown indecision throughout his career and suggested that he does not appear fully committed to continuing in the role.
Protest, organizing, and accountability
Beaudion also discussed his involvement in the George Floyd protests in Sioux Falls. He clarified that he was one of the organizers, but credited two young people as the original driving force behind the effort. He said the protest was peaceful and described his role as someone who, while serving in law enforcement, also believed in accountability for law enforcement.
He said that same day reflected two parts of his public life: standing with protesters calling for accountability, and later putting his uniform back on to help protect the city.
Asked where accountability needs improvement in policing, Beaudion was cautious about criticizing local agencies directly. He focused instead on federal law enforcement, especially ICE deployments in city streets. He said he supports secure borders, but argued that deploying ICE in cities such as Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Chicago puts communities and local law enforcement in difficult positions.
Voting rights and representation
The interview closed with a question about a recent Supreme Court decision involving Louisiana’s congressional map and racial discrimination in redistricting. Beaudion connected the issue back to South Dakota, arguing that even though the state has only one congressional district, Supreme Court precedent can still affect state legislative and local districting.
He said the issue is especially important for Native voters in South Dakota, who he said have had to fight for voting rights and representation. Beaudion argued that weakened voting-rights protections could affect whether Native communities are represented by people who understand their experiences and priorities.
Closing impression
Throughout the interview, Beaudion presented his campaign as rooted in service, affordability, and practical representation rather than national partisan messaging. His central argument was that South Dakota voters — including Democrats, independents, and Republicans — are looking for someone focused on education, health care, housing, agriculture, tribal sovereignty, and everyday costs.
He framed his candidacy as an effort to listen first, build policy from community input, and work across party lines while still drawing sharp contrasts with Senator Mike Rounds on education, postal service protections, and public investment.
