Incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Johnson decided to retire instead of running for re-election to a fourth term in office.

Businessman Rick Weiland ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

[50][51][52] 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.

[53][54] Benda committed suicide in October 2013, days before a possible indictment over embezzlement and grand theft charges.

[55] 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.