John Thune

Biography

Overview

John Thune is a Republican U.S. Senator from South Dakota, serving since 2005. He previously represented South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the House from 1997 to 2003. First elected to Congress in 1996, Thune narrowly lost a 2002 Senate race to Democratic incumbent Tim Johnson by 524 votes, then defeated Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004. He has been reelected to the Senate in 2010, 2016, and 2022. Since January 2025, Thune has served as Senate Majority Leader and Senate Republican leader. Born in Pierre, South Dakota in 1961, he holds degrees from Biola University and the University of South Dakota.

Career

Thune has risen through successive Republican leadership positions: chief deputy whip (2007–2009), Republican Policy Committee chair (2009–2012), Republican Conference chair (2012–2019), majority whip (2019–2021), and minority whip (2021–2025), culminating in his election as Senate Majority Leader in November 2024. A major legislative achievement is the TRACED Act (2019), co-authored with Senator Ed Markey, which combats illegal robocalls and passed the Senate 97-1. He has been a leading advocate for rural broadband and 5G deployment. Thune has also championed agriculture support, tax reform, and forest restoration initiatives. He has established himself as an institutionalist and collaborator within the Republican conference.

Prior political experience

Thune was first elected to the House in 1996, defeating Democrat Rick Weiland 58%-37% after winning the Republican primary with 59% of the vote against Lt. Governor Carole Hillard. He was reelected to the House in 1998 with 75% of the vote and in 2000 with 73% of the vote. In 2002, he ran for Senate against incumbent Democrat Tim Johnson and lost by only 524 votes (0.15% margin). In 2004, Thune defeated Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle by 4,508 votes with 51% of the vote in what was the most expensive Senate race that year ($30 million total). He ran unopposed in the 2010 general election—the first time in South Dakota's modern history a major party failed to field a Senate candidate. In 2016, he defeated Democratic nominee Jay Williams with 71.8% of the vote. In 2022, he was reelected with 69.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Brian Bengs, despite drawing criticism from Donald Trump for rejecting the former president's claims about the 2020 election.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal

Conservative

119th Congress+0.432

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1

+1

+0.226

Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 675 scored votes

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Officeholding history

Term	Seat	Term dates	Termination	Predecessor	Successor
4th	U.S. Senate SD Class 3	2023–present	In progress	John Thune	—
3rd	U.S. Senate SD Class 3	2017–2023	Term ended	John Thune	John Thune
2nd	U.S. Senate SD Class 3	2011–2017	Term ended	John Thune	John Thune
1st	U.S. Senate SD Class 3	2005–2011	Term ended	—	John Thune
3rd	U.S. House SD-At-Large	2001–2003	Term ended	John Thune	Dusty Johnson
2nd	U.S. House SD-At-Large	1999–2001	Term ended	John Thune	John Thune
1st	U.S. House SD-At-Large	1997–1999	Term ended	—	John Thune

Committee assignments

Telecommunications and Media
Senate· 2023–present
Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety
Senate· 2023–present
Health Care
Senate· 2023–present
Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy
Senate· 2023–present
Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Senate· 2023–present
Aviation, Space, and Innovation
Senate· 2023–present
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Senate· 2023–present
Taxation and IRS Oversight
Senate· 2023–present
Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Finance
Senate· 2023–present
Commodities, Derivatives, Risk Management, and Trade
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
SenateEx Officio· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Senate· 2023–present

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

Year	Seat	Result	Vote share	Field
—	—	Pending	—	—