Phil Saunders
19th Attorney General of South Dakota
In office 1955–1959
Governor	Joe Foss
Preceded by	Ralph A. Dunham
Succeeded by	Parnell J. Donahue
Personal details
Born	(1920-09-10)September 10, 1920 Milbank, South Dakota, U.S.
Died	March 15, 1997(1997-03-15) (aged 76)
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Northwestern University School of Law
Profession	Attorney

Phil Saunders (September 10, 1920 – March 15, 1997) was an American politician and soldier who fought in World War II,^[1] an American attorney and 19th Attorney General of South Dakota from 1955 to 1959. Born in Milbank, South Dakota, he was married to the niece of U.S. Senator Francis Case.^[2]

Saunders was a Republican. He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Law.^[3]

On July 27, 1954, Saunders was nominated for attorney general at the state convention by acclamation; Governor Sigurd Anderson said he thought that was the first time the nomination for the office for a first term had been awarded without a contest.^[4] Saunders defeated his general election opponent, Democrat Fred Nichols.^[5][6]

On July 16, 1956, Saunders was nominated by acclamation at the state convention in his re-election bid.^[7] In the general election, Saunders defeated Democrat William H. Heuermann by 156,149 votes to 127,988.^[8]

In 1958, Saunders ran for Governor of South Dakota. He defeated L. Roy Houck for the Republican nomination,^[9] but lost to Democrat Ralph Herseth in the general election.