Campaign Rounds was widely seen as the front runner throughout the campaign. However, he faced ongoing criticism on the election trail for his possible involvement with the State's ongoing
EB-5 visa investigation, concerning the conflict of interest that Rounds' administration had when administering the EB-5 program. State officials misused funds to pay for their salaries, did not disclose that they owned companies which they gave contracts to, directed money towards companies that went bankrupt and arranged for loans from unknown sources from shell companies located in tax havens. In October 2014, Rounds admitted that he had approved a $1 million state loan to meat-packing company 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 loans that was ultimately used to pay his own salary. Benda committed suicide in October 2013, days before a possible indictment over embezzlement and grand theft charges. Columnist Jonathan Ellis of the
Argus Leader called Rounds' fundraising "anemic" compared to the amount of outside money coming into the state on Weiland's side, and criticized the entire Rounds campaign as "more suited for sheriff of
Mayberry County than U.S. Senate."
Debates • Complete video of debate, October 29, 2014
Predictions Polling With Herseth Sandlin With B. Johnson With T. Johnson With Weiland • * Internal polling for the Mike Rounds campaign • ^ Internal polling for the Rick Weiland campaign
Results By county Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Maps File:South Dakota Senate Election Results by County, 2014 (Howie).svg|Support for Howie by county: == See also ==