There is no primary in South Dakota on Tuesday, but there was a major development in that state’s Senate race: Julian Beaudion, the Democratic nominee, dropped out, clearing the way for an independent candidate to challenge Senator Mike Rounds, the Republican incumbent.
“While this decision is heartbreaking, it is not defeat,” Mr. Beaudion said in a statement.
The deadline to withdraw from the ballot was Tuesday. As recently as Monday, Mr. Beaudion had told The Washington Post that efforts to get him to drop out amounted to “political extortion.”
Mr. Beaudion said in the statement that the factors in his withdrawal included a “devastating house fire,” as well as “intimidating threats to drop out of this race.”
“The mental and physical safety of my family is my priority and for this reason alone, I step aside,” he said.
Brian Bengs, the independent candidate, previously ran for Senate as a Democrat in 2022, when he lost in a landslide to Senator John Thune, a Republican who is now the majority leader. In a social media post on Tuesday night, Mr. Bengs said that Mr. Beaudion had made a “patriotic decision to make this a two-person race.”
Mr. Beaudion said in the statement that he would “not be endorsing or supporting Brian Bengs in this race.”
Mr. Beaudion’s withdrawal from the race is the third this year by a Democratic Senate nominee in a red state, and in each case the withdrawal cleared the way for an independent candidate. The other states were Nebraska and Idaho.
Some Democrats have also pushed for Alani Bankhead, the party’s nominee in Montana, to quit the race and clear the path for Seth Bodnar, an independent in that state.
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