No. 2 Senate Republican Thune will seek re-election

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican leader in the Senate, announced Saturday he is seeking re-election to a fourth term in 2022.

Thune, who turned 61 Friday, has mulled retiring from the Senate for months. But he has a clear path to re-election in reliably-red South Dakota even after he drew the ire of thenPresident Donald Trump late in 2020 for speaking out against his attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election. Since then, Thune has offered restrained criticism of Trump’s political imitators at times, but mostly focused on scuttling the Democrats’ plans.

“I’ve always promised that I would do the work, even when it was hard, uncomfortable, or unpopular,“Thune said in a statement on Twitter. “That work continues, which is why after careful consideration and prayer, and with the support of my family, I’m asking South Dakotans for the opportunity to continue serving them in the U.S. Senate.”

Both parties are fighting for control of a closely divided Senate in 2022.

Thune is a likely successor to Sen. Mitch McConnell as the leader of the GOP’s Senate caucus. As Thune considered retiring, powerful Republicans, from McConnell to Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, urged him to seek another sixyear term.

Thune in 2016 carried South Dakota by nearly 72% of the vote, but Trump’s suggestion in 2020 that he should face a primary challenger emboldened some Republicans who argued he had not shown enough loyalty to the former president. A handful of little-known Republicans have said they would challenge Thune.

Thune’s choice signals a willingness to defy Trump, whose clout has forced other politically secure Republicans to leave Congress. Elected Republicans who previously crossed Trump and subsequently retired include former Republican Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee.

Thune has served in Congress for 22 years and ushered in a period of Republican dominance over state politics. However, he had openly expressed hesitation about running for another term, calling it a “family decision.”

Democrat Brian Bengs, a military veteran and lawyer from Aberdeen, announced his candidacy in November.

Thune has $14.8 million in campaign cash, according to the most recent federal report.