2002

As the 2002 race for governor took shape, media and political observers largely dismissed Rounds as an extreme long shot.^[14] Until late 2001, then-Congressman John Thune was the front-runner for the nomination. When Thune passed on the race to challenge Senator Tim Johnson, state Attorney General Mark Barnett and former Lieutenant Governor Steve T. Kirby became candidates.

Rounds benefited from the heated competition between Kirby and Barnett, much of which centered on ethical concerns about Kirby's personal business investments and damaged both candidates' reputations,^[15] with Barnett's campaign advertisements involving claims "so outlandish that people thought for sure that they were exaggerated or completely fabricated".^[16] By staying above the fray, Rounds won the primary by 15 points.^[14]

After winning the Republican nomination, Rounds chose State Senator Dennis Daugaard of Dell Rapids as his running mate. Their Democratic opponents were University of South Dakota President Jim Abbott of Vermillion and his running mate, former State Representative Mike Wilson of Rapid City.

Rounds was elected governor on November 5, 2002. The results were as follows:^[17]

• Republicans: Rounds and Daugaard, 56.8%
• Democrats: Abbott and Wilson, 41.9%
• Independent: Jim Carlson and Ron Bosch, 0.7%
• Libertarians: Nathan Barton and Eric Risty, 0.6%

2006

Two Democratic candidates emerged to challenge Rounds: Jack Billion, a retired surgeon and former state legislator from Sioux Falls, and Dennis Wiese, the former president of the South Dakota Farmers Union. Billion easily won the nomination and selected Rapid City school board member Eric Abrahamson as his running mate.

The Rounds/Daugaard ticket was reelected on November 7, 2006. The results were as follows:^[18]

• Republicans: Rounds and Daugaard, 61.7%
• Democrats: Billion and Abrahamson, 36.1%
• Constitution: Steven J. Willis and Larry Johnsen, 1.2%
• Libertarians: Tom Gerber and Betty Rose Ryan, 1.0%

Research centers

Rounds's 2010 Initiative established ten research centers at state-supported universities. In the program's first four years, the state's first five research centers generated an estimated $59 million in federal and private funding, with an estimated $110 million economic impact.^[21]

Abortion

On February 22, 2006, the state legislature of South Dakota passed an act banning all medical abortions except those necessary to save the mother's life. Rounds signed the act on March 6 and the ban was to have taken effect on July 1, 2006, but did not, because of a court challenge. A referendum on repealing H.B. 1215 was placed on the ballot for the November 2006 statewide election due to a petition.^[22] On May 30, over 38,000 signatures were filed, more than twice the 17,000 required to qualify. Voters repealed the law on November 7, 2006, the day of Rounds's reelection.^[23]

EB-5 Visa inquiry

During Rounds's administration, South Dakota offered green cards to foreign investors in exchange for investments in a new South Dakota beef packing plant and other economic investments through the EB-5 visa program the federal government established in 1990.^[24][25] After the beef packing plant went bankrupt, questions emerged about the nature of the investments and the foreign investors. Some investors received neither their EB-5 visas nor the money back from their failed investments, with no indication as to where their money went.^[26]

State officials misused funds to pay for their salaries, did not disclose that they owned companies which they gave contracts to, directed money to companies that went bankrupt and arranged for loans from unknown sources from shell companies located in tax havens.^[27][28][29] In October 2014, Rounds admitted that he had approved a $1 million state loan to beef packing plant Northern Beef shortly after learning that Secretary of Tourism and State Development Richard Benda had agreed to join the company, with Benda then getting another $600,000 in state loans that was ultimately used to pay his own salary.^[30][31] Benda committed suicide in October 2013, days before a possible indictment over embezzlement and grand theft charges.^[32]

3D-printed weapons

Of 3D-printed weapons, Rounds has said, "This is a new technology which you're not going to put back into the bottle. It is there." He has suggested creating and using new technologies, such as metal detectors that can also recognize plastic, in schools, airports and other public places.^[33]

2014

Speculation persisted that in 2014 Rounds would seek the United States Senate seat held by Tim Johnson, a Democrat who had served since 1997. Johnson opted not to run for reelection.^[34]

On November 29, 2012, Rounds launched a campaign^[35] for the seat being vacated by Johnson's retirement.^[36] He won the June 2014 Republican primary, defeating four other candidates.^[37] Early polls showed Rounds leading by a 2–1 margin against Democratic opponent Rick Weiland. October 2014 polls showed a closer three-way race between Rounds, Weiland, and independent former Senator Larry Pressler.^[38] Independent conservative former state legislator Gordon Howie was also in the race.^[39]

In November Rounds was elected with a majority of the vote. The results were:^[40]

• Republican: Rounds, 50.37%
• Democrat: Weiland, 29.51%
• Independent: Pressler, 17.09%
• Independent: Howie, 3.03%

2020

In the 2020 election, Rounds defeated Scyller Borglum to win the Republican nomination.^[41] He won the general election over Democrat Dan Ahlers with nearly 66% of the vote.^[42][43]

Education

In February 2019, Rounds was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, enabling employers to contribute up to $5,250 to their employees' student loans as a means of granting them relief and incentivizing people to apply for jobs with employers who implement the policy.^[44]

Environment

In 2017, Rounds was one of 22 senators to sign a letter^[45] to President Donald Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. According to OpenSecrets, Rounds has received over $200,000 from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.^[46] Rounds supported embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who had come under scrutiny because of extraordinary expenditures for personal security and luxury travel, and the appearances of ethical conflicts, defending him on Meet the Press. Calling the criticism "nitpicking", he said, "I don't know how much of it is overblown and how much of it is accurate, to be honest."^[47]

Criminal justice

Rounds opposed the FIRST STEP Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill that Trump signed into law. The bill passed 87–12 on December 18, 2018.^[48]

Israel Anti-Boycott Act

In March 2018, Rounds co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.^[49][50]

Health care

Rounds opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and has voted to repeal it.^[51] In 2019, he said he supported lawsuits seeking to overturn it.^[52]

2020 presidential election

On January 9, 2022, Rounds said that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen from Donald Trump: "[We] looked at over 60 different accusations made in multiple states. While there were some irregularities, there were none of the irregularities which would have risen to the point where they would have changed the vote outcome in a single state". Rounds said the election was fair, and added that Republicans should stop making arguments to the contrary: "If we simply look back and tell our people, 'Don't vote because there's cheating going on,' then we're going to put ourselves in a huge disadvantage. So, moving forward, let's focus on what it takes to win those elections. We can do that."^[53] Trump responded by calling Rounds a "jerk", "crazy" and "stupid" and accused him of being "woke" for acknowledging the election results.^[54]

2021 United States Capitol attack

On May 28, 2021, Rounds abstained from voting on the creation of the January 6 commission.^[55]

2024 presidential election

Rounds endorsed Senator Tim Scott for the Republican nomination in the 2024 United States presidential election. In an interview on Meet the Press, Rounds refused to commit to supporting the eventual Republican nominee if Scott was not nominated. Scott suspended his campaign on November 12, 2023.^[56][57]