Mike Rounds

Mike Rounds (born October 24, 1954, Huron, South Dakota, U.S.) is an American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and began representing South Dakota the following year. He previously served as governor of the state (2003–11).

Rounds, who was the oldest of 11 children, was named after an uncle who had died during World War II. After graduating from South Dakota State University with a degree in political science (B.S., 1977), he worked in insurance and real estate. During this time he married Jean Vedvei, and the couple later had four children.

Rounds entered politics in 1990 when he successfully ran for the South Dakota Senate, representing District 24, which included the state capital, Pierre. He took office the following year and later served as minority whip (1993–94) and then majority leader (1995–2000). Limited to four terms by law, he left the Senate in 2000, and two years later he ran for governor. Rounds easily defeated his Democratic opponent and took office in 2003. He was reelected in 2006. As governor, he sought to improve the state’s higher education system, and to this end, he oversaw the establishment of new research facilities and doctoral programs. Rounds, who was Roman Catholic, also notably signed legislation that banned all abortions in South Dakota except in those cases where the pregnant woman’s life was in danger. The controversial law was later repealed by a voter referendum.

In 2012, a year after stepping down as governor, Rounds announced that he was running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Though beset by allegations of misconduct while serving as governor—his administration was being investigated for embezzlement and bribery involving an investment program for immigrants—he won the general election in 2014 and took office the following year.