Republican senators chose South Dakota Sen. John Thune as their new leader in a closed-door vote on Wednesday. He will take over longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s place when he officially steps down in January.
Three senators vied for the top spot, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Florida Sen. Rick Scott.
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Well-liked and a respected communicator, Thune, 63, was perceived as a front-runner for much of the year. He is currently the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and took over for McConnell for a few weeks last year when he was on a medical leave. He is also a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
As he geared up to run for leader, Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues. According to his aides, he raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, including a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senate’s main campaign arm.
One potential liability for Thune has been his previously rocky relationship with Trump. Thune was highly critical of the then-president as he tried to overturn his election defeat in 2020 and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump’s supporters. Thune said then that Trump’s efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power were “inexcusable.”
This year, though, Thune and Trump have talked frequently on the phone and Thune visited the then-GOP candidate at his home in Florida. Thune told The Associated Press over the summer that he views their potential relationship as a professional one. If they both win their elections, Thune said, “we’ve got a job to do.”
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In February, McConnell announced he would step down as Senate majority leader at the start of 2025. The 82-year-old is the longest-serving Senate party leader in history, holding the position for nearly two decades.
The Kentucky senator said he still plans to finish out his current term, which ends in 2027.
McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision to step back as leader but said during the announcement he had been contemplating it for months.
It was said the decision was not related to his health, having suffered a concussion in 2023 and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking.
Though McConnell ultimately endorsed President-elect Donald Trump for a second term, the two became estranged in 2020 when McConnell refused to abide by Trump’s lie that the election of President Joe Biden was the product of fraud. This was said to put a strain on his relationship with Republican senators who firmly aligned with Trump over the recent years.
