John Thune

John Randolph Thune

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Senate Majority Whip
From: January 3, 2019 – present
Predecessor | John Cornyn
Successor | Incumbent (no successor)
Senior U.S. Senator from South Dakota
From: January 3, 2005 – present
Predecessor | Tom Daschle
Successor | Incumbent (no successor)
Former U.S. Representative from South Dakota's At-large Congressional District
From: January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Predecessor | Tim Johnson
Successor | Bill Janklow
Information

Party  | Republican

Spouse(s)  | Kimberley Thune

Religion  | Evangelical

John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961 in Murdo, South Dakota) is the senior United States Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. Thune serves as Vice Chairman of the Republican Conference and is on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Armed Services Committee, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

## Contents

* 1 Early life
* 2 Political career
* 2.1 U.S. House of Representatives
* 2.2 U.S. Senate
* 2.3 Other
* 3 Political positions
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Early life[edit]

Thune received an undergraduate degree at Biola University and a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota.

## Political career[edit]

Thune went to Washington in 1985 when working for Senator Jim Abdnor. In 1989, at age 28, he became executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party. In 1991 Thune was appointed railroad director by Governor George Mickelson and in 1993 became Executive Director of the South Dakota Municipal League.

### U.S. House of Representatives[edit]

In 1996, Thune was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Lieutenant Governor Carole Hillard in the Republican primary, and won the general election 58%-37% over former Daschle aide Rick Weiland. Thune was chosen freshman class representative for the Republican leadership. He was reelected in 1998 by the largest margin of victory for any statewide office in South Dakota history.

### U.S. Senate[edit]

After losing a race for the U.S. Senate by only a few hundred votes against an incumbent, Thune won the South Dakota senatorial race in 2004 by beating then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in a very close race.[1]

An establishmentarian, Thune in mid-September 2020 delayed a nomination vote on Nathan Simington, an anti-Big Tech adviser picked by President Trump for the FCC;[2] the senator had pushed instead for a nomination of Michael O'Reilly, who has voiced opposition to Trump's executive order targeting tech companies.

Thune is a shill for Faucism, criticizing Donald Trump's opposition towards Anthony Fauci in October 2020.[3]

### Other[edit]

John Thune has been mentioned as a possible candidate for President in 2012.[4]

## Political positions[edit]

Thune was an outspoken conservative and has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues over ninety percent of the time during the Congress.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ South Dakota Election 2004 Results
2. ↑ Sen. John Thune Delaying Trump FCC Nominee Critical to Tackling Big Tech Bias
3. ↑ Gonzalez, Oriana (October 20, 2020). Republican senators defend Fauci as Trump escalates attacks. Axios. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
4. ↑ John Thune, Possible 2012 Candidate, Takes a Jab at Palin while Joking about His Own Lesser Known Status
5. ↑ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/t000250/

## External links[edit]

* Official Site
* John Thune On the Issues

v • d • e

Republican Establishment

Groups|

National Republican Senatorial Committee • National Republican Congressional Committee • Republican Main Street Partnership • Tuesday Group

Political Agenda|

Neoconservatism • Globalism • Centrism • Big government • Spending bills • Cronyism • Crony capitalism

People|

John Barrasso • Roy Blunt • Susan Brooks • Liz Cheney • Tom Emmer • Jaime Herrera Beutler • John Katko • Kevin McCarthy • Mitch McConnell • Paul Mitchell • Tom Rice • Marco Rubio • Paul Ryan • Ben Sasse • Rick Scott • Steve Stivers • John Thune • Fred Upton • David Valadao • Todd Young

Historical Figures|

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller • Wendell Willkie • Alfred M. Landon • Prescott Bush • Thomas E. Dewey • George Romney • Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. • Hiram Fong • Jacob Javits • Thomas Kuchel • Joseph W. Martin, Jr. • John McCain • Winthrop Rockefeller

Backers|

Lamar Alexander • Richard Burr • Shelley Moore Capito • Bill Cassidy • Susan Collins • John Cornyn • Brian Fitzpatrick • Lindsey Graham • Will Hurd • James Lankford • Adam Kinzinger • Peter Meijer • Lisa Murkowski • Dan Newhouse • Mitt Romney • Pat Toomey • Thom Tillis • Roger Wicker • Don Young

Allies|

Senate Leadership Fund • Congressional Leadership Fund • Koch brothers • Big Pharma • RINOs • RINO Backers

Historical opponents|

Calvin Coolidge • Robert Taft • John W. Bricker • Barry Goldwater • Everett Dirksen • Ronald Reagan

Conservative opponents|

Todd Akin • Michele Bachmann • Ben Carson • Doug Collins • Steve King • Roy Moore • Richard Mourdock • Donald Trump • Rand Paul • Allen West