WASHINGTON - Sen. John Thune, R-S. D., the second-ranking Senate Republican, said he will run for re-election after he spent several weeks contemplating retirement.
He said I always promised that I would do the work, even when it was hard, uncomfortable, or unpopular.
After careful consideration and prayer, I m asking South Dakotans for the opportunity to serve them in the U.S. Senate, Thune said.
His decision came later than expected - he pushed the announcement until after the holidays as he grappled with his next steps - and brings relief to congressional allies who have been urging him to stay in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Thune, 61, who is currently serving his third term, was first elected in 2004 when he defeated then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S. D. He then went on to win both his re-election bids in a deeply red state, which has benefited from an outsized influence in D.C.
As a Senate Minority Whip, the top GOP vote counter, Thune is considered a leading potential successor to McConnell once he retires.
McConnell urged Thune to seek re-election last month when asked to comment about the possibility of his retirement. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, McConnell said that he certainly hopes he won't. Thune is an outstanding senator. He did a great job as whip. It would be a real setback for the country and our party if he retires. Thune recently said that the biggest motivator for his contemplating retirement was his family, while also noting that the current political environment in the Republican Party would also influence his decision, as he spoke to reporters on the Capitol.
He said that in the broader general ether of the political environment that we're in, those are all factors that you take into account, but a lot of it ends up being a lot more personal stuff.
A member of the old guard of conservative politics, Thune has shown signs of weariness after navigating Congress and the GOP marked by Trump, who fired back at Thune last year when the senator criticized his attempt to challenge the results of the 2020 election. The former president won in South Dakota by 26 percent over President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
After Thune said that any challenge to Biden's win would go down like a shot dog, Trump called him RINO Republican In Name Only and threatened to launch a primary challenge against him.