Thune wins contested race for Senate GOP leader

John Thune will lead the Senate Republican conference next term, winning a three-way election to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a closed-door vote on Wednesday.

The South Dakotan will take over in January at the turn of the new Congress, when Republicans are expected to control the government trifecta: the House, Senate and the presidency. And he’ll have some room to maneuver in his own chamber, with Republicans’ 53-seat majority, as the party considers wide-ranging legislation that would tackle tax cuts, immigration and energy policy.

"We have a mandate from the American people,” Thune told reporters after the vote. "I’m excited to get to work with this team right away. … I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican conference.”

At 63, Thune, current GOP whip, is considered relatively young for leadership. Thune has not committed to imposing a term limit on the role of conference leader, meaning he’s well-positioned to hold the job for years to come. He is not up for reelection until 2028, and South Dakota is solidly red.

McConnell has served as GOP leader for nearly two decades. In his speech announcing his intentions to step down from the role, McConnell said he wanted to hand the post over to the next generation. He did not publicly endorse a successor.

Thune has long been considered a favorite for the gig. But he faced competition from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former GOP whip himself, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a former Senate campaign arm chief with deep ties to the conservative wing of the conference. Scott was eliminated as the lowest vote-getter in the first ballot, and Thune won 29-24 over Cornyn in the second ballot, per two people familiar with the vote. The meeting to pick a new GOP leader election — as well as other down-ballot leadership positions — went for roughly four hours.

Thune supporters say they always expected it to be close. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), an early Thune backer, told POLITICO shortly after the election, “It went the way we were expecting it to go. We figured it was going to go to a second ballot.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), another early Thune supporter, told reporters after the vote that “these are two really good people,” referring to Thune and Cornyn, and “now it’s a matter of bringing everybody back together. … We can’t afford to have hard feelings.”

Headed into the election, Thune only had a handful of public endorsements and trailed Scott in public support. But Senate insiders projected for months that the real competition was between Thune and Cornyn. They’re both known as McConnell acolytes who had cozied up to Donald Trump in recent months, though both had some choice words about the incoming president after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Thune and Trump have spoken regularly as of late, including shortly after Election Day last week, per a person familiar with the conversation.

Thune in the meeting did offer some comforts to conservatives that wanted change in the next iteration of leadership. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters after that Thune “promised more transparency, more open amendments, more open debates on the floor.”

Cornyn and Thune both emphasized a need for the conference to work together going forward after Wednesday’s results.

“I think it's really important for our conference to stay together, to be as effective as we can be,” Cornyn said.

Scott wrote in a statement, “While it isn’t the result we hoped for, I will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump's agenda.”

The newly elected leader will take the reins during a critical time for the Senate GOP. The party has a highly ambitious legislative agenda, including top priorities like tax cuts, the debt limit, government spending and more. Republican lawmakers are also openly eyeing a budget reconciliation package — a limited-use procedural option that would allow Republicans to pass a consequential bill without Democratic support. That’ll require major collaboration and potential deal-making from GOP leaders, both in the House and the Senate.

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) said after the vote that, although it’d been a long competition, the sense among the conference is that everyone “really wants to buckle down now.”

On the Senate floor Wednesday after the GOP vote, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer offered Thune his congratulations. “I look forward to working with him. We’ve done many bipartisan things here in the Senate together, and I hope that continues,” Schumer said.

Thune has also previously served in the House. In the Senate, in addition to his current position as whip, he’s been a top fundraiser for the conference, a bona fide that earned him points amongst his GOP colleagues.

Anthony Adragna, Eleanor Mueller, Katherine Tully McManus, Meredith Lee Hill and Caitlin Emma contributed to this report.