John Thune

Votes Cast

25

Yea Rate

88.0%

Bills Sponsored

10

Missed Votes

0.0%

John Thune is the senior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and Senate Majority Leader, a position he was elected to by Senate Republicans in November 2024.

John Randolph Thune, South Dakota's senior senator since 2005, is the Senate Majority Leader beginning in 2025 after his election by the Republican Conference in November 2024. A Murdo, South Dakota, native who earned degrees from Biola University and the University of South Dakota, Thune began his political career as executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party and state railroad director before winning election to the U.S. House in 1996, where he served three terms. Elected to the Senate in 2004 by defeating then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, he was subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2016, and 2022. In the 119th Congress, Thune serves on the Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce committees. His legislative agenda focuses on tax policy, agricultural development and ethanol production, telecommunications reform, and federal spending discipline—priorities central to South Dakota's economy and energy sectors.