Marion Michael Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011, and in the South Dakota Senate from 1991 to 2001. In 2014, Rounds was elected to the United States Senate, succeeding retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. He was reelected in 2020 over Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers.


== Early life, education, and business career ==
The eldest of 11 children, Rounds was born in Huron, South Dakota, the son of Joyce (née Reinartz) and Don Rounds. He has German, Belgian, Swedish and English ancestry. Rounds has lived in the state capital of Pierre since he was three years old. He was named for an uncle, Marion Rounds, who was killed in the Pacific theater during World War II. Several members of the Rounds family have been involved in state government. His father worked at various times as state director of highway safety, a staffer for Rural Electrification Administration, and executive director of the South Dakota Petroleum Council. His brother Tim Rounds is a member of the South Dakota Legislature, representing District 24, which includes Pierre.Rounds attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in political science.Rounds is a former partner in Fischer Rounds & Associates, an insurance and real estate firm with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Mitchell, Watertown and Sioux Falls.


== South Dakota Senate ==


=== Elections ===
Rounds represented District 24, which was based in Pierre. In 1990, he defeated incumbent state Senator Jacqueline Kelley, 53%–47%. He was reelected in 1992 (60%), 1994 (77%), 1996 (66%), and 1998 (75%). Rounds had to leave the Senate in 2000 because of legislative term limits South Dakota voters had passed in 1992.


=== Tenure ===
Rounds represented Hughes, Lyman, Stanley, and Sully counties. In 1993, he became Senate Minority Whip. In 1995, his peers selected him to be Senate Majority Leader.


=== Committee assignments ===
Commerce
Education
Legislative Procedure
Local Government
Retirement Laws
State Affairs
Taxation


== Governor of South Dakota ==


=== Elections ===


==== 2002 ====

As the 2002 race for governor took shape, media and political observers largely dismissed Rounds as an extreme long shot. 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, with Barnett's campaign advertisements involving claims "so outlandish that people thought for sure that they were exaggerated or completely fabricated". By staying above the fray, Rounds won the primary by 15 points.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:
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:
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%


=== Tenure ===
Rounds served as a member of the Governors' Council at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He was the 2008 Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.


=== Issues ===


==== 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.


==== 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