Sen. John Thune speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7, 2021. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
By Marianne LeVine
01/08/2022 12:41 PM EST
Updated: 01/08/2022 01:32 PM EST
Senate Minority Whip John Thune will run for reelection this year, ending months of speculation about his political future.
In a statement released Saturday on Twitter, the South Dakota Republican and the No. 2 GOP leader said he would seek a fourth term in the Senate.
“I’ve always promised that I would do the work, even when it was hard, uncomfortable or unpopular,” Thune said. “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.”
Thune is widely viewed as a potential successor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his decision to run again is a boon to party leaders, who lobbied him not to retire. But it was unclear for months whether Thune would run again, as he reportedly weighed family concerns.
Former President Donald Trump had called on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to primary Thune, after he predicted that the House GOP effort to challenge the 2020 election results would “go down like a shot dog.” Noem, however, publicly declined to do so.
In a statement following his announcement, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott (R-Fla.) commended Thune’s decision and endorsed him — a move the committee makes with incumbent GOP senators.
“John Thune has served South Dakotans with humble strength since his very first day in the Capitol, and the NRSC is proud to endorse his 2022 reelection,” Scott said. “Having risen through the ranks and into leadership, Senator Thune has given an out-sized voice to South Dakota farmers, ranchers, families, and job creators.”
With Thune’s announcement Saturday and an expected reelection announcement from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in the coming days, it’s unlikely that the Senate will see any more retirements this year. A total of five Senate Republicans and one Senate Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, plan to leave Congress at the end of 2022.
The 61-year-old Thune was elected to the Senate in 2004, after defeating then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle. As of the end of September, Thune had $14.8 million cash on hand.
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The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has announced FCT senator, Philip Aduda, as the new Senate Minority Leader.
Mr Aduda was formerly the Senate Minority Whip.
The Senate President made the announcement at the start of the plenary on Tuesday, after reading out a confirmation letter from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In the letter, signed by the party’s National Secretary, Sam Anyawu, the PDP asked that Mr Aduda replace Enyinnaya Abaribe who left the party for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) last month.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Abaribe in May, left the PDP on grounds of a “shambolic electoral process in the state, driven by a procured court injunction.”
Mr Abaribe, who resigned about 48 hours after he withdrew from the state’s governorship race, also decried the party’s use of “imaginary three-man ad-hoc delegates and the exclusion of the party’s statutory delegates” in the primary to elect candidates.
New minority whip
In a separate letter, the PDP also confirmed Enugu senator, Chukwuka Utazi, as the new Senate Minority Whip.
Mr Utazi will replace Mr Aduda whose position became vacant after his elevation to the position of minority leader.
The new nominations by the PDP come weeks after the South-east Senate caucus nominated Anambra senator, Uche Ekwunife, as the minority leader.
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The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party caucuses that hold the majority and the minority. These leaders are elected to their positions.
Party leaders of the U.S. Senate
Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D)
Majority Whip
Dick Durbin (D)
Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R)
Minority Whip
John Thune (R)
The current leaders are Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The current Assistant Majority Leader is Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois. The current Assistant Minority Leader is Republican John Thune of South Dakota.
- Majority and Minority Leaders and Party Whips, via Senate.gov
Retrieved from "//simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Party_leaders_of_the_United_States_Senate&oldid=7659032"
Both party conferences in the Senate elect whips. The term "whip" comes from a fox-hunting expression—"whipper-in"—referring to the member of the hunting team responsible for keeping the dogs from straying from the team during a chase. Traditionally serving as assistant leaders, whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they occasionally stand in for the majority or minority leaders in their absence.
Established early in the 20th century, the whip position has undergone changes within both party conferences. Democrat James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois became the first party whip when he was elected to the position in 1913. Two years later the Republicans elected James W. Wadsworth to serve as both party secretary and whip. Soon after, however, the conference elected Charles Curtis as whip while Wadsworth remained as secretary. In 1921 the Republicans changed the title to “vice chairman and whip,” but in 1924 they separated the two positions, allowing the conference to elect the vice chairman (sometimes styled the “vice chairman and assistant floor leader”) and giving the party floor leader the authority to appoint the whip.
In 1935, with only 25 members, the Republican Conference chose not to employ a whip or a vice chair/assistant leader. When the Republicans brought back the whip position in 1944, they did away with the separate position of assistant floor leader. In 1970 Republicans began referring to their whips as assistant leaders, but in 2003 they again reverted to the whip title. Democrats, meanwhile, used the title whip until 2003, when they began calling the position assistant leader. In 2017 Democrats created a new position of assistant leader, which is separate from and ranks directly below the position of whip.
*Advanced to Republican party floor leader.
1 No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization."
*Advanced to Democratic party leader.