Free Republic

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’s successor needed to be independent from former President Donald Trump. Partial transcript as follows: JON KARL: By the way, I should point out that the former president’s had some choice words for you as – as you no doubt know. I think he called you – or questioned whether or not you were crazy or just stupid, a jerk, a RINO, a weak – anyway, we could go on. But – but how important is it for whoever the Senate leader is to...

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was fully capable of being leader after he froze and was unresponsive twice during press conferences. Rounds said, “I spoke with Mitch yesterday afternoon and told him I was going to be doing an interview, and I waned to personally touch base with him before I did that and he was in good shape. He was direct. He said, you know, I had that concussion and they warned me that I would be light headed in the future and to be...

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he does not support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) proposal for a 15-week federal abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “Your Republican colleague Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks. Do you support the bill?”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation Wednesday that bans the sale of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported the new magazine law will “[ban] the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of higher-capacity gun magazines.” However, the law always those who already possess “higher-capacity” magazines to keep them.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday expressed his support fellow GOP Sen. Mike Rounds (S.D.), who earlier this week was attacked by former President Trump after saying the 2020 presidential election was fair. "I think Sen. Rounds told the truth about what happened in the 2020 election," McConnell told CNN. "And I agree with him."

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds rejected claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. "The election was fair — as fair as we've seen," he said during an interview on ABC's "This Week." Rounds said that the GOP must "refocus" on a winning strategy to win the back the White House. Sen. Mike Rounds on Sunday rejected former President Donald Trump's debunked election claims, expressing confidence that the 2020 election was "as fair as we've seen." The South Dakota Republican — who was easily reelected to a second term in the Senate in 2020 — said during an interview...

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that former President Donald Trump’s fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election are unfounded. Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “You voted to certify the election last year, and you condemned the protests as an insurrection. What do you say to all those Republicans, all those veterans who believe the election was stolen and bought the falsehoods coming from former President Trump?”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said on Sunday that while he has previously stated he will support the next Republican presidential nominee, he would take a "hard look" at supporting former President Trump if he runs again in 2024. ABC "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked Rounds, who has shot back at GOP assertions that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, if he could support Trump if he ran for office again. "I will take a hard look at it," said Rounds

The Schumer-Rounds-Collins immigration bill would be a total catastrophe. @DHSgov says it would be “the end of immigration enforcement in America.” It creates a giant amnesty (including for dangerous criminals), doesn’t build the wall, expands chain migration, keeps the visa... lottery, continues deadly catch-and-release, and bars enforcement even for FUTURE illegal immigrants. Voting for this amendment would be a vote AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders. If Dems are actually serious about DACA, they should support the Grassley bill!

Hunting: It is an age-old dance. It is a sacred covenant between the predator and the prey .. and the guy bristling with a half-dozen giant cannons and sporting only the most advanced cloaking technology. Sure, it's not "fair" to the animal, and sure there's no "sport" in it, and sure it makes you "kind of a dick," but answer us this: If deer like living so much, why didn't they invent high explosives, huh? If that logic made sense, well then, buddy, have we got some stupidly overpowered hunting gadgets for you: .577 Tyrannosaur Rounds The .577 Tyrannosaur round...

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota — Republican favorite Mike Rounds beat out three opponents for South Dakota's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was once considered close enough for national scrutiny — and money. The former two-term governor prevailed over Democrat Rick Weiland and independent candidates Larry Pressler and Gordon Howie to replace retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. Rounds led his opponents in fundraising and polling for most of the campaign. South Dakota was among the top targets in the Republican Party's quest to net six seats and take control of the chamber for the final two years of President...

South Dakota's suddenly tight Senate race is suddenly not so tight again, according to the polls. Still, none of the four candidates has majority support. Polls released in recent days show Republican Mike Rounds with bigger leads than in the previous round of polling. A KELO/Sioux Falls Argus Leader poll conducted Oct. 20-23 showed Rounds with 42 percent support; Democrat Rick Weiland at 33 percent; independent Larry Pressler at 13 percent; and independent Gordon Howie at 2 percent. Another 10 percent of respondents were undecided. An NBC News/Marist poll conducted Oct. 19-23 showed Rounds at 43 percent, Weiland at 29...

Hot on the heels of the Department of Justice’s suddenly-renewed interest in George Zimmerman’s civil rights liability in the self-defense killing of Trayvon Martin (see: FBI Convenes Grand Jury For Zimmerman Civil Rights Case) just days before next week’s election comes another DOJ action timed perfectly for electoral manipulation. National Review Online is reporting that the FBI (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the DOJ) has made the highly unusual decision to disclose their investigation into Mike Rounds (pictured above), a Republican Senate candidate in South Dakota, less than a week before next Tuesday’s vote. The alleged misconduct being investigated is somewhat...

Some polling earlier this month suggested that the South Dakota Senate race might be unexpectedly competitive, but a new poll shows Republican candidate Mike Rounds with a significant lead 10 days before the election. Rounds is taking 43 percent of the vote, according to the NBC/Marist poll released Sunday. Democratic candidate Rick Weiland is at 29 percent and former GOP Sen. Larry Pressler, now running as an independent, is polling at 16 percent.

The three-way race for South Dakota’s open Senate seat got more complicated Wednesday, when the Sioux Falls Argus Leader published a page one story alleging that former Governor Mike Rounds, the Republican candidate and current leader in the polls, had approved $600,000 in state assistance to a company that was about hire a member of his cabinet. According to reporter David Montgomery, then Secretary of Tourism and State Development Richard Benda requested the assistance for Northern Beef Packers about two weeks before he and Rounds were to leave office. Benda was about to go to work for a company with...

A potential presidential candidate makes a stop in Fargo. Florida Senator Marco Rubio was a guest at the North Dakota Republican Party fundraiser stating that the state is the envy of the nation and that other states can learn from North Dakota's leaders. Senator Rubio was welcomed by a crowd of Republican supporters with a message that the American Dream is still alive. He says that he's sensitive to the challenges that all Americans face to achieve that dream and praised Senator John Hoeven and Congressman Kevin Cramer for the critical roles they play in Washington.

Larry Pressler's wife, Harriet, drives him to all of his campaign events. He has a single full-time paid staffer running his campaign. A bank loan accounts for half of the money he's spent on his race so far. So yes, it was surprising to Larry Pressler when he woke up Wednesday to find himself within striking distance of winning the race for South Dakota's junior seat in the US Senate. A SurveyUSA poll released that day showed Pressler, an Independent, would get 32% of the vote in a race that pits him against former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a...

Today, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) made the following statement about Mike Rounds, the liberal Republican candidate running for U.S. Senate in South Dakota. "Mike Rounds is trying to hide his pro-amnesty record by pretending to oppose the Senate's immigration bill, but he co-signed a report in February endorsing the same misguided policies," said SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins. "That's why his immigration task force welcomed the bill's passage in the Senate. "Mike Rounds now says he wants the border fence built before amnesty, but the report he signed earlier this year didn't call for more fencing and it didn't...

Independent Larry Pressler continues to steal support from Republican Mike Rounds in the race for U.S. Senate, while Democrat Rick Weiland falls behind, a new poll shows. Survey South Dakota — conducted by Survey USA on behalf of the American News, KSFY TV of Sioux Falls and KOTA TV of Rapid City — was of 616 likely voters and was conducted between Oct. 1 and Sunday. It shows 35 percent of those responding will vote for Rounds, 32 percent for Pressler and 28 percent for Democrat Rick Weiland. Three percent of voters back independent Gordon Howie and 2 percent are...