Julian Beaudion

Julian Beaudion is a former South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper, small-business owner, and community leader from Sioux Falls running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Mike Rounds in the June 2, 2026 primary.

Born in Alexandria, Louisiana — the youngest of six children of a nurse and a high-school math teacher — Beaudion moved to South Dakota at age 22 to join the South Dakota Highway Patrol. He served as a state trooper for more than 13 years, working as a recruiting manager, speed-management expert, and on executive protection details for the Governor and the State Supreme Court Chief Justice before leaving law enforcement.

He now runs The Hub SD, a Sioux Falls professional-development program, and co-owns Swamp Daddy's Cajun Kitchen with his wife Inkka. He has served as Vice President of the South Dakota State NAACP, Vice President of the South Dakota Troopers Association, President of Juneteenth Sioux Falls, and Executive Director of the South Dakota African American History Museum, and was selected as an Obama Foundation Leader in 2024.

His campaign, launched in April 2025, centers on "practical solutions, bipartisan cooperation, and creating economic opportunities for all South Dakotans," with stated priorities including rural infrastructure, telehealth access, workforce development, safeguarding Medicaid and Medicare, education, and veterans' services. He qualified for the ballot in April 2026 after the Secretary of State validated more than 90% of his petition signatures.