John Thune

John Thune
United States Senator from South Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Tim Johnson
Preceded by	Tom Daschle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's At-Large district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Tim Johnson
Succeeded by	Bill Janklow
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kimberley Thune (née Weems)
Children	Brittany and Larissa
Residence	Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Alma mater	Biola University University of South Dakota
Occupation	political assistant, association executive

John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961) is the Republican junior U.S. Senator from the state of South Dakota.

Born and raised in South Dakota, Thune attended college at Biola University in California before returning to his home state to obtain a graduate degree at the University of South Dakota. He worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator James Abdnor and served in the Reagan Administration in the Small Business Administration, before winning election to the House of Representatives in 1996. After three terms in the House, he unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Tim Johnson in the U.S. Senate race in 2002, losing by a mere 524 votes (0.15%). Thune was elected to the Senate two years later, defeating the incumbent Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

Early life and family

John Randolph Thune was born and raised in the small town of Murdo, South Dakota, the son of Yvonne Patricia (née Bodine) and Harold Richard Thune. Thune's paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Norway who partnered with his brother to start Thune Hardware stores in Mitchell and Murdo, South Dakota. An evangelical Christian, Thune graduated with a B.A. degree in Business from Biola University, an Evangelical Christian college near Los Angeles in 1983. Thune received an MBA from the University of South Dakota in 1984. He married the former Kimberley Weems of Doland, South Dakota, in 1984; both are committed Evangelical Christians. They have two daughters, Brittany and Larissa.

Political career

A member of the Republican Party, Thune worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator James Abdnor. Under President Reagan, Thune worked at the Small Business Administration.

Thune was appointed Railroad Director of South Dakota by Governor George S. Mickelson and served from 1991-1993. Between 1993 and 1996, he worked as a member of the South Dakota Municipal League.

House of Representatives

In 1996, Thune was elected to South Dakota's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives; he won reelection in 1998 and in 2000 was reelected with over 70% of the vote. Thune supported term limits and promised to serve no more than three terms in the House.

Keeping his pledge, Thune instead ran for the United States Senate, challenging Senator Tim Johnson in 2002, and losing by 524 votes (0.15%).

Between 2002-2004 Thune worked as a lobbyist for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.

2004 Senate race

In 2004, he again ran for the Senate, this time challenging incumbent Tom Daschle, at the time the United States Senate Minority Leader and leader of the Senate Democrats.

The race was the most expensive Senate race in 2004, with $30 million spent, and the most expensive in South Dakota history. It was widely followed in the national media. Thune– along with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President of the United States George W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney– painted Daschle as the "chief obstructionist" of Bush's agenda: "Thune was able to criticize “Daschle for serving incompatible masters,” and portray him, as Frist did when he came to South Dakota to campaign for Thune, as a partisan obstructionist and political heir to liberal icon and former Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota.

Daschle's critics charged the Democrat with using filibusters to block confirmation of several of Bush's nominees to the federal judiciary, and being out of step with the views of South Dakota voters on other political and social issues: "The GOP had targeted Daschle, the Senate minority leader, claiming he had been the chief obstruction to President Bush on such issues as tax cuts, judicial nominees and the war in Iraq." Thune emphasized social issues such as abortion and same sex marriage, and flag burning to highlight the differences between his views and Daschle's, stating, "Two-thirds of the people in South Dakota are in favor of protecting marriage through a Federal Marriage Amendment. You know, two-thirds of the people in South Dakota, probably higher than that, are in favor of an amendment to protect the American flag. You know, the Second Amendment, gun owners' rights, abortion– those are not wedge issues in South Dakota."

In addition, Thune drove home his strong support for the war: in a nationally televised debate on NBC's Meet the Press, Thune accused Daschle of "emboldening the enemy" by stating President Bush had "failed miserably" to avoid the Iraq war.

When the race began in early 2004, Daschle led by 7 points in January and February. By May, his lead fell to just 2 points and into the summer polls showed an effective tie. Throughout September, Daschle led Thune by margins of 2-5%; from October until the November 2 election, most polls showed Thune and Daschle tied 49-49 among likely voters.

On November 2, 2004, Thune defeated Daschle by 4,508 votes, winning 51% of the vote and became a well-known Republican figure in the U.S. Senate. Daschle's loss was the first ousting of a serving Senate Majority or Minority Leader since 1952, when Arizona Senator Ernest McFarland lost his seat to Barry Goldwater.

Senate career

Thune was chosen to be the GOP's Chief Deputy Whip.

Soon after arriving in the Senate, Thune wrote language into a transportation bill expanding the pot of federal loan money for small railroads, enabling his former client to apply for $2.5 billion in government financing for its project.

As a U.S. Senator, Thune also took a leading role in formulating energy policy. He pushed for the final passage of a comprehensive energy bill, which finally overcame a series of Democratic filibusters and passed the Senate in 2005. Thune helped pass another energy bill in late 2007. Thune is a particular advocate of ethanol and wind energy, which are linked to South Dakota's high levels of corn production and its windy prairies. Thune's hometown of Murdo is considered one of the windiest towns in the nation.

Thune, along with South Dakota's senior Senator Tim Johnson, was also faced with the challenge of keeping Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, South Dakota (near Rapid City) open after the Department of Defense announced plans to close the base as part of its 2005 round of base closures. The Pentagon announced that it planned to move all of Ellsworth's B-1 bombers to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Ellsworth Air Force Base is one of South Dakota's largest employers, and a critical component of the state's economic well-being, making it necessary for the state's political leaders to fight for its continued existence. Senator Thune, along with Senator Tim Johnson (D), lobbied Washington, specifically the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, to keep Ellsworth open. In their lobbying efforts, they argued that it made little sense to consolidate all of the nation's B-1s in a single location due to the risk of a single attack or tornado taking out the fleet. Also, it was discovered that the Pentagon may have overlooked a lawsuit that possibly prevented B-1 pilots at Dyess from engaging in adequate training. While the fate of Dyess was still in the air, Thune declared that he had strong doubts about issues such as John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador, "I've said all along that I'm going to play whatever cards I have to get the best possible outcome I can for my base," he is reported as saying. Ultimately, the BRAC Commission voted 8-1 to reverse the Pentagon's recommendation to close Ellsworth.

Thune also sponsored an amendment (No. 1618) to a troop support bill (S. 1390) in the Senate in July, 2009 that would have created a federal law allowing concealed carry weapons owners to enjoy interstate reciprocity of this right. Despite the support of prominent blue dog Democrats in the senate, the bill was defeated narrowly (58-39; 60 votes are needed to pass an amendment).

Committee assignments

United States Senator - John Thune: Committee Assignments

• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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Political views

The American Conservative Union gave Senator Thune a rating of "100" in 2006.

Thune has described his religious faith as the most important aspect of his political career: "Having a Christian worldview shapes my decision-making with respect to all aspects of my life. I always respect people in public life who are principled, and those principles have to be connected to something. And my faith is what serves as the anchor and directs my actions." In June 2006, Thune reaffirmed his strong support to amend the United States Constitution to ban same-sex marriage: "The Federal Marriage Amendment debate simply is an opportunity for us to affirm our support for marriage...It is an important debate to have in this country."

In a 2005 interview with Christianity Today, Thune supported invading Iraq, expressing a hope that this would result in greater religious freedom: "Liberating Iraq from decades of tyranny and dictatorship, bringing about political freedom, will create an atmosphere of where religious freedom will come to Iraq. And that opens the door, obviously, for the Christian faith there as well."

Before the selection of Sarah Palin, Thune was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential pick for Republican Presumptive Nominee John McCain in some circles due to his strong Conservative policies. Thune publicly played down the speculation.

He has been mentioned as a possible prospect for a presidential run in 2012.

Electoral history

South Dakota's at-large congressional district: Results 1996–2000

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1996		Rick Weiland	119,547	37%		John R. Thune	186,393	58%		Stacey L. Nelson	Independent	10,397	3%		Kurt Evans	Independent	6,866	2%
1998		Jeff Moser	64,433	25%		John R. Thune	194,157	75%
2000		Curt Hohn	78,321	25%		John R. Thune	231,083	73%		Brian Lerohl	Libertarian	5,357	2%

Senate elections in South Dakota: Results 2002–2004

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2002		Tim Johnson	167,481	50%		John R. Thune	166,949	49%		Kurt Evans	Libertarian	3,071	1%
2004		Tom Daschle	193,340	49%		John R. Thune	197,848	51%

Further reading

• Lauck, Jon K. Daschle Vs. Thune: Anatomy of a High Plains Senate Race University of Oklahoma Press (September 30, 2007). ISBN 0806138505. ISBN 978-0806138503

External links

• United States Senator John Thune official U.S. Senate site
• Friends of John Thune official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Collected news and commentary from The New York Times
• Profile from SourceWatch Congresspedia
• John Thune at IMDb
• Representative-Elect John Thune (R-SD) 1996 profile from CNN