Republicans Elect Farm-State Sen. Thune for Majority Leader

Republican John Thune of South Dakota prevailed over two rivals in closed-door voting on Wednesday and will become Senate majority leader in January. A supporter of biofuels, Thune, No. 2 in GOP leadership since 2019, will be the first majority leader from a farm state since Democrat Tom Daschle, also from South Dakota, in 2002.

“This Republican team is united,” Thune told reporters in a Senate hallway. With a 53-vote majority in the new session, Republicans will give the Trump administration “the tools and support they need to enforce border security laws and to remove the violent criminals who are wreaking havoc in every one of our states,” he said.

“We will work to make America prosperous again by streamlining the bureaucratic machine and overturning costly Biden-Harris regulations, and we will work to restore American energy dominance — not just energy security, but energy dominance, which will lower costs and bolster our national security.”

Indiana farmer Kip Tom, who campaigned for President-elect Donald Trump, was among the farm and agribusiness leaders to congratulate Thune. “Senator Thune has been a fierce supporter of agriculture for many years. I look forward to his leadership,” said Tom on social media.

“With Sen. Thune as majority leader, American biofuel producers and their farm partners will have one of their strongest champions setting the Senate’s legislative agenda,” said the biofuel group Growth Energy. The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives said Thune was a champion for farmers and ranchers. “We look forward to working with Sen. Thune next year on a number of issues — including tax extension and farm policy — that will bolster the economy, increase American competitiveness, and ensure national security.”

The affable and conservative Thune, a former U.S. representative, narrowly defeated Daschle, then the Senate minority leader, in the most expensive Senate race in the nation in 2004. As majority leader, he will succeed Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate’s longest-serving leader. Both are members of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Thune topped Texas Sen. John Cornyn, 29-24, to win the leadership post. Florida Sen. Rick Scott was eliminated in the first round of voting. Some of President-elect Trump’s allies backed Scott, although Trump stayed out of the race. Thune refused to go along with Trump’s challenges to President Biden’s victory in 2020.

Trump said recently that he wanted to fill administration posts without having to wait for Senate confirmation. “What we’re going to do is make sure that we are processing his nominees in a way that gets them into those positions so they can implement his agenda. How that happens remains to be seen,” said Thune when asked about Trump’s desires.

To watch a C-SPAN video of Thune’s news conference, click here.