John Thune facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Thune
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Official portrait, 2021
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| Senate Majority Leader | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 |
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| Whip | John Barrasso |
| Preceded by | Chuck Schumer |
| Leader of the Senate Republican Conference | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Mitch McConnell |
| Senate Minority Whip | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – January 3, 2025 |
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| Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Preceded by | Dick Durbin |
| Succeeded by | Dick Durbin |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 20, 2021 |
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| Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Preceded by | John Cornyn |
| Succeeded by | Dick Durbin |
| Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Jay Rockefeller |
| Succeeded by | Roger Wicker |
| Chair of the Senate Republican Conference | |
| In office January 26, 2012 – January 3, 2019 |
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| Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Vice Chair | Roy Blunt |
| Preceded by | Lamar Alexander |
| Succeeded by | John Barrasso |
| Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee | |
| In office June 17, 2009 – January 26, 2012 |
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| Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Preceded by | John Ensign |
| Succeeded by | John Barrasso |
| United States Senator from South Dakota |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Mike Rounds
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| Preceded by | Tom Daschle |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's at-large district |
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| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Tim Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Bill Janklow |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Randolph Thune
January 7, 1961 Pierre, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Kimberley Weems
(m. 1984) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Biola University (BA) University of South Dakota (MBA) |
| Signature |  |
John Randolph Thune ( thoon; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he has been the Senate majority leader and Senate Republican leader since January 2025. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the dean of South Dakota's congressional delegation. From 1997 to 2003, he served three terms as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district.
Thune has worked in politics and civic organizations since completing his MBA degree. He first ran for the U.S. Senate in 2002, losing to incumbent Senator Tim Johnson. In 2004, he defeated Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. In the Senate, Thune served as the Republican chief deputy whip from 2007 to 2009 and chaired the Senate Republican Policy Committee from 2009 to 2012. He served as the Senate Republican Conference chair, the third-ranking position in the Senate, from 2012 to 2019.
The Senate Republican Conference selected Thune as the majority whip for the 116th Congress; he succeeded Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who was term-limited in the position. In 2020, he was chosen as minority whip for the 117th Congress. In 2024, he was elected Senate Republican leader, succeeding Mitch McConnell. Thune is the first Senate party leader to have originally taken office as a senator in the 21st century.
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Early life, education, and early political career
Thune was born in Pierre, South Dakota, the son of Yvonne Patricia (née Bodine) and Harold Richard Thune. Harold Thune was a fighter pilot in the Pacific theater during World War II who flew the Grumman F6F Hellcat; he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after shooting down four enemy planes. Harold Thune flew his missions off the USS Intrepid. Thune's paternal grandfather, Nicholas Thune, was an immigrant from Norway who partnered with his brother to start Thune Hardware stores in Mitchell and Murdo, South Dakota. Thune's maternal grandfather was from Ontario, Canada, and his mother was born in Saskatchewan.
Thune was a star athlete in high school, active in basketball, track, and football. He graduated from Jones County High School in 1979. He played college basketball at Biola University in California, from which he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business. Thune received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Dakota in 1984.
After completing his MBA, Thune became involved in politics. He worked as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator James Abdnor from 1985 to 1987. In 1989, Thune moved to Pierre, where he served as executive director of the state Republican Party for two years. Thune was appointed Railroad Director of South Dakota by Governor George S. Mickelson and served from 1991 to 1993. From 1993 to 1996, he was executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League.
U.S. House of Representatives (1997–2003)
Elections
Thune began his political career in 1996 by entering the race for South Dakota's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Almanac of American Politics said that Thune "entered the 1996 race as very much an underdog." His opponent in the Republican primary was sitting Lieutenant Governor Carole Hillard of Rapid City, who benefited from the support of the longtime South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow. A May 1996 poll showed Hillard leading Thune by a margin of 69%-15%. By relying on strong personal skills and the help of his old network of Abdnor friends, Thune won the primary, defeating Hillard 59%-41%. In the general election, Thune defeated Democrat Rick Weiland, a long-serving aide to U.S. Senator Tom Daschle, 58%-37%. Thune won his subsequent races for U.S. House by wide margins. He was reelected in 1998 with 75% of the vote, and in 2000 with 73% of the vote.
U.S. Senate (2005–present)
On December 6, 2006, Thune was chosen by Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott to be the GOP's Chief Deputy Whip. After briefly serving as Republican Conference Vice-Chairman, Thune became chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in June 2009. The post was the fourth-ranking position in the Senate.
In March 2009, Thune was one of 14 senators to vote against a procedural move that essentially guaranteed a major expansion of a national service corps. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would cost at least $418 million in the fiscal year 2010 and $5.7 billion from 2010 to 2014. He was elected Republican Conference Chairman in 2011, taking office in January 2012. The conference chairman is the third-ranking position in the Senate. In late 2011, the Mitchell Daily Republic wrote: "Thune's elevation to the No. 3 spot makes him the highest-ranking Republican senator in South Dakota history. Thune has served as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 2009 until the present time and was vice chairman of the Republican Conference from 2008 to 2009 and the Republican chief deputy whip from 2006 to 2008."
Thune's emergence as a conservative voice in the Senate gained him a lengthy profile in the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard. The American Conservative Union gave Senator Thune a rating of 100 in 2006 and again in 2010. As of 2020 Thune's lifetime ACU rating was 84.11. Thune was praised in a 2010 Weekly Standard profile as an exceptional politician who was, unlike many of his colleagues, able to communicate traditional conservatism, making him a popular alternative to Tea Party representatives.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
- Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
- Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
- Committee on Finance
- United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Committee on Budget
Caucus membership
- Afterschool Caucuses
Senate Republican leader
On November 13, 2024, Thune won the Senate Republican Conference leadership election on the second ballot to become the next Senate majority leader to replace the retiring Mitch McConnell, following the November 2024 U.S. elections, in which Republicans carried the Senate. The other candidates were Rick Scott and John Cornyn. The election occurred in a closed-door Republican caucus setting, and senators' votes were not publicized. Thune beat Cornyn in the second ballot 29-24.
On January 9, 2025, Thune, representing the Republican Party, spoke at Jimmy Carter's funeral service alongside President Joe Biden, Jason Carter and Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Political positions
Agriculture
In March 2019, Thune was one of 38 senators to sign a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue warning that dairy farmers "have continued to face market instability and are struggling to survive the fourth year of sustained low prices" and urging his department to "strongly encourage these farmers to consider the Dairy Margin Coverage program."
Drug policy
In December 2017, Thune was one of six senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer requesting their "help in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the 340B program", a rule mandating that drug companies give discounts to health-care organizations presently serving large numbers of low-income patients.
Economy
In January 2019, Thune introduced legislation to repeal the estate tax, which applies to couples with estates above $22 million (it is estimated that approximately 1,700 families pay the tax annually).
Education
In February 2019, Thune was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, enabling employers to contribute up to $5,250 to their employees' student loans.
Energy
On March 6, 2014, Thune introduced the Reliable Home Heating Act (S. 2086; 113th Congress). The bill would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to exempt motor carriers that transport home heating oil from numerous federal safety regulations if the governor of a state declares a state of emergency caused by a shortage of residential heating fuel. The bill also would require the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to notify states if certain petroleum reserves fall below historical averages.
Environment
In March 2019, Thune joined all Senate Republicans, three Democrats, and Angus King in voting against the Green New Deal resolution. Arguing against its implementation, Thune said the resolution would "absolutely be devastating and disastrous" for the agriculture economy both in South Dakota and across the US.
Foreign policy
In November 2006, Thune said he believed the US could win the Iraq War through stability. He elaborated, "It's making sure that Iraq can't be a staging ground for terrorist attacks against its neighbors in the region or, worse yet, against the United States." Thune also espoused the position that the Bush administration and a majority of members of Congress would grant military commanders the final decision on when to reduce U.S. military forces there. In July 2008, Thune said that the Bush administration's moves in Iraq had been a "remarkable success", noting civilian casualties had been reduced by 80 percent, and charged Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama with failing "to acknowledge the basic fact of the success and result and progress and gains that have been made as a result of the surge."
In December 2010, Thune was one of 26 senators who voted against the ratification of New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1,550 strategic warheads and 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years, and providing for a continuation of on-site inspections that halted when START I expired the previous year. It was the first arms treaty with Russia in eight years.
In November 2012, Thune and Chuck Grassley requested that United States Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner provide a review of the Chinese company Wanxiang Group's plan to acquire bankrupt battery maker A123, arguing that the transaction should be reviewed to ensure that U.S. military and taxpayer interests in A123 were protected. In October 2018, Thune requested staff briefings about a Bloomberg report that the Chinese government had implanted malicious hardware into server motherboards, writing charges that "the U.S. hardware supply chain has been purposely tampered with by a foreign power [and] must be taken seriously."
In September 2016, Thune was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of State John Kerry advocating that the United States use "all available tools to dissuade Russia from continuing its airstrikes in Syria" from an Iranian airbase near Hamadan and stating that the airstrikes violated "a legally binding Security Council Resolution" on Iran. In June 2017, Thune co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would have made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment, to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel. In March 2018, Thune voted to table a resolution spearheaded by Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy, and Mike Lee that would have required President Trump to withdraw American troops either in or influencing Yemen within the next 30 days unless they were combating Al-Qaeda.
In May 2020, a group of Senate Republicans planned to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data COVID-19 contact-tracing apps collect. Senator Roger Wicker said the legislation would "hold businesses accountable to consumers if they use personal data to fight the COVID-19 pandemic". Thune said the act would permit the creation of "platforms that could trace the virus and help flatten the curve and stop the spread—and maintaining privacy protections for U.S. citizens".
Health care
Thune was part of the group of 13 senators drafting the Senate version of the American Health Care Act of 2017. In July 2017, Thune said that Republicans would continue trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act regardless of whether that month's effort collapsed: "We are going to vote to repeal and replace Obamacare. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when."
Gun control
Thune advocates gun rights, sponsoring legislation that would allow individuals with concealed carry permits to use such permits as a valid permit in other states.
Judiciary
In March 2016, about seven months before the next presidential election, Thune declared his opposition to considering President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, saying that "the next president should make this lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court" because the "American people deserve to have their voices heard on the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice". In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Thune supported an immediate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.
Trade
In January 2018 Thune was one of 36 Republican senators to sign a letter to President Trump requesting he preserve the North American Free Trade Agreement by modernizing it for the economy of the 21st century. In July 2018, as the Trump administration pushed for aid for agricultural producers affected by retaliatory tariffs, Thune said the plan offered a "false and short-term" sense of security and cited the importance of fair and free trade for South Dakota's farmers.
Electoral history
| South Dakota's at-large Congressional district Republican primary election, 1996 | |||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican |  John R. Thune |
41,322 | 59.49 |
| Republican | Carole Hillard | 28,139 | 40.51 |
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Rick Weiland | 119,547 | 37% | John R. Thune |
186,393 | 58% | Stacey L. Nelson | Independent | 10,397 | 3% | Kurt Evans | Independent | 6,866 | 2% | |||||
| 1998 | Jeff Moser | 64,433 | 25% | John R. Thune (incumbent) |
194,157 | 75% | |||||||||||||
| 2000 | Curt Hohn | 78,321 | 25% | John R. Thune (incumbent) |
231,083 | 73% | Brian Lerohl | Libertarian | 5,357 | 2% |
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Tim Johnson (incumbent) |
167,481 | 50% | John R. Thune | 166,949 | 49% | Kurt Evans | Libertarian | 3,071 | 1% | ||||
| 2004 | Tom Daschle (incumbent) | 193,340 | 49% | John R. Thune |
197,848 | 51% | ||||||||
| 2010 | John R. Thune (incumbent) |
227,947 | 100% | |||||||||||
| 2016 | Jay Williams | 104,140 | 28% | John R. Thune (incumbent) |
265,516 | 72% | ||||||||
| 2022 | Brian Bengs | 91,007 | 26.15% | John R. Thune (incumbent) |
242,316 | 69.63% | Tamara Lesnar | Libertarian | 14,697 | 4.22% |
Personal life
Thune is an evangelical Christian. He married Kimberley Weems of Doland, South Dakota in 1984. The Thunes have two daughters and five grandchildren.
Thune is physically active and has frequently competed in running events. A 2012 Runner's World Magazine feature called Thune "the fastest man in Congress since 2009."
Thune is a fan of the bands Styx, Journey, Boston, and the Doobie Brothers.
See also
In Spanish: John Thune para niños
