Daines signals privately he will back Thune in GOP leadership race

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is telling colleagues that he will support Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) in the race to become next Senate Republican leader, according to sources familiar with the private conversations.

Daines’s public support would be a promising development for Thune, who is locked in a tough race with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate Republican leader next year.

Republicans are expected to win back the Senate majority next week, and Daines will get a lot of the credit as chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm, especially since the pivotal race is in his home state of Montana between former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.).

A spokesperson for Daines told The Hill that “Sen. Daines is focused on winning back the majority.”

“He’ll have more to say on the leadership race after the election,” said Matt Lloyd, a senior aide to Daines.

The second-term Montana senator told Semafor in a recent interview that he did not plan to run for Senate Republican leader, despite speculation earlier this year that he might throw his hat in the ring.

“I’m appreciative of everybody who’s asked me to consider it, but I’m not going to run for majority leader,” Daines told the publication. “I very much enjoyed serving as chairman of the NRSC. But I know when you become majority leader, you spend a lot more time in D.C.”

Republican senators expect Thune to carve out a special leadership position for Daines if he wins the race to become leader.

“There’s going to be a leadership spot for Steve when it’s all said and done,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told Politico’s Jonathan Martin in June.

Rounds and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) are the two Republican senators who have publicly endorsed Thune for the top leadership post.

Daines has a geographical affinity with Thune as Montana shares a border with South Dakota.

Both men are also hunters and outdoorsmen. Daines likes to target big game such as elk and antelope while Thune likes to hunt pheasant in South Dakota’s fields and prairies, which are considered the best pheasant hunting ground in the country.

Daines and Thune have ranked as the top-two fundraisers for the NRSC this cycle, and Thune has headlined or is scheduled to headline more than 200 events for Senate Republican candidates and the Senate GOP campaign arm during that span.

Cornyn, however, announced recently that he has raised $406,874,101 since his election to the Senate in 2002 and has directed nearly $325 million to Senate Republican colleagues, candidates, leadership PACs and the NRSC.

Thune was seen as the front-runner in the race earlier this year but Cornyn appears to have picked up support and momentum in August and September.

The race remains too close to call as many Republican senators are waiting on the outcome of the 2024 election before committing to either Thune or Cornyn.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R), a close former President Trump ally, is also in the leadership race, and he could receive a major boost if Trump wins the White House and decides to back him wholeheartedly over Thune or Cornyn.

McConnell announced earlier this week that Republican senators will convene at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 13 to elect a new Senate GOP leadership team.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is running unopposed to succeed Thune as whip. And Sens. Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) are running against each other to become the next Senate GOP conference chair, the No. 3-ranking spot in the leadership.