CIVPAC Endorses Ben Ray Luján for U.S. Senate in New Mexico
The endorsement is qualified. Our comparison finds substantial differences with Luján on economic policy, while Republican Larry Marker brings useful private-sector experience. But Marker has provided relatively little information on major responsibilities of a U.S. senator, including foreign policy, health care, climate policy and several questions of constitutional government.
The endorsement also examines a separate institutional consideration: the value of divided government as a check on executive power. In the present political environment, that consideration gives the New Mexico Senate race greater significance than the candidate comparison alone.
Our endorsement of independent candidate Brian Bengs for the United States Senate from South Dakota was not an easy one.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds has done some things we respect. He has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, and after the 2020 election he rejected Donald Trump’s unsupported claims of widespread fraud and said plainly that Trump had lost a fair election.
But more recently, Rounds has too often gone along with an increasingly powerful presidency rather than insisting that Congress exercise its own constitutional responsibilities.
Bengs offers something different. He is running as a genuine independent and says he would caucus with neither major party. Along with several other independent Senate candidates, he has discussed creating an independent caucus that could serve as a fulcrum between Republicans and Democrats.
We find that possibility enormously attractive.
Congress has surrendered too much authority to presidents of both parties, while party leadership increasingly determines what individual members are expected to support. Even a small group of independent senators could make bipartisan coalitions easier and force Congress to behave more like an independent branch of government.
We have substantial disagreements with Bengs. We oppose his proposed wealth tax and have serious reservations about parts of his health-care and economic agenda. An endorsement does not require agreement on every issue.
It does require a judgment about which candidate would make the Senate—and the country—better.
In South Dakota, we believe that candidate is Brian Bengs.
This was a close call. Husted is stronger on several issues, school choice, right-to-work principles, and the Hyde Amendment. He also deserves credit for supporting Ukraine and for rejecting election denial after January 6.
But his Senate record matters. On controversial nominees, Trump’s tariffs, and congressional war powers, Husted has repeatedly sided with the administration even when other Republican senators chose to break with it.
Brown has plenty of positions we dislike, particularly on protectionism, unions, and price controls. But in the political environment of 2026, we believe the stronger need is for an independent legislative check on executive power.
Under a different president and Congress, this endorsement might go the other way.
