U.S. Senator John Thune was elected by his Republican colleagues today to serve as the next Senate Majority Leader. Senator Thune will lead the Republican conference, which enjoys a 53-47 majority after gaining four seats in last week’s election.
He won the secret-ballot vote against Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. After a first ballot vote of Thune 23, Cornyn 15, Scott 13, Scott was eliminated and Thune defeated Cornyn on the second vote 29-24.
The news of Thune’s election comes just a day after the story broke that President Donald J. Trump will appoint Governor Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security. It’s a historic week for South Dakota, as our state reaches a unique level of prominence in Washington, DC.
The win is a long time coming for Thune, who has worked hard for years in the #2 and #3 positions in the Republican conference, always looking ahead to the day when Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the U.S. Senate history, would step down.
Thune takes this leadership role as Republicans are riding a high following Tuesday’s election, and the party looks forward to two years of unified control of the federal government. The party will be led, of course, by President Donald J. Trump. Assuming House Republicans win the last few seats necessary to hold their majority, Thune’s counterpart in Congress will likely be House Speaker Mike Johnson. Both Thune and Johnson will face challenges; Thune because of the Senate’s requirement for 60 votes for many actions, and the House because of its razor-thin majority.
Thune’s election is a major development for South Dakota’s political heft in Washington. He is the second South Dakotan to lead his party in the U.S. Senate. The first was U.S. Senator Tom Daschle, a Democrat, who lead Senate Democrats for ten years from 1995-2005, serving stints as both majority leader and minority leader. Daschle’s long career in Congress came to an end twenty years ago, in 2004, when he was defeated by Thune. Daschle’s eventual undoing came from the contradiction of leading the Democratic senators while representing a Republican state. Thune will not face that challenge; he takes on the mantle of Senate leadership as Republicans in South Dakota reach historic levels of success.
President Donald J. Trump released a statement on Truth Social, congratulating Thune and the rest of the new Senate Republican leadership team:
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