GOP Sen. John Thune may retire soon. Thune is a prominent figure who is the second-highest-ranking GOP member active in the Senate. He has been considered as a potential future leader of his party. So, his retirement announcement came as an unexpected surprise.
Thune Retirement Report
As per the reports published by The New York Times, Thune has been very clear about his motives. He said to the people of his current home state that 2022 is probably his last year in Congress. In fact, this can be the final 12 months of Thune as a Senate in Congress. It seems like he has already made the decision of not running for another term and can soon retire.
John Thune had a pretty successful career in politics and his goals towards development have always been clear.
Thune is an influential figure and held a strong position in the party. He held a rank below Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel.
John came to this decision due to personal issues existing in the family. Also, he has been struggling with the lasting effect that former President Donald Trump left behind. Any further details have not been disclosed yet but it seems the decision has already been made.
The current members of the GOP leadership were hopeful about winning the seat again upon Thune’s re-election. But the hopes were soon gone when GOP Sen. John hinted about his untimely retirement. He also stated that it was his wife who wanted him to spend more time among family members and thinks that he should retire.
At the beginning of his career, Thune was chosen to represent the Congressional General District, South Dakota. The tenure started in 1997 and ended in 2003. However, the major change in his political life came when John was elected as a Senate in 2005.
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Thune defeated Democratic Leader Tom Daschle back in 2004. His work was commendable and that led to his success. He was re-elected back in the year 2016 and got 71% votes.
But now that he has decided on retiring, the state will probably see a new leader in the near future. Thune has remained tight-lipped all this while about contesting for the next term. but it is heard that he will be announcing retirement towards the end of the year.
Upon asking Leader Mitch McConnel about Thune’s retirement, he said, “John Thune is an outstanding senator. He’s done a great job as whip. …It would be a real setback from the country and our party if he retires,”
Primary Challenge of Thune
Though Thune is choosing to retire, the newcomer Mark Mowry has challenged Thune’s seat back in May. He is going to chase “America’s First Platform” and is going to run for it. The Trump-backed primary challenger may be ready to win but he might not stand a chance if Thune is running.
According to Cook’s Political Report, Thune will be definitely winning as a “strong Republican” even after all these years. Everybody is looking forward to the South Dakota election that is slated to be held in June 2022.
Reporters even asked about Thune’s decision of retirement and his views regarding running for election, he said, “All in due time“.
Thune and Trump are already not on good terms. Trump had foul-mouthed John and called him a “weak and ineffective RINO.” The former President even labeled him as “Mitch’s Boy”.
As there is no clarification upon the retirement of GOP Sen. John has been given, the upcoming election is going to be quite interesting.
If Thune will withdraw himself from the election, then who will be the next leader?
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