Thune, John (1961-…), became a member of the United States Senate in 2005. Thune, a Republican, represents South Dakota.
John Randolf Thune was born on Jan. 7, 1961, in Pierre, South Dakota. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Biola University in La Mirada, California, in 1983. In 1984, he earned a master’s in business administration from the University of South Dakota.
From 1985 to 1987, Thune worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator James Abdnor of South Dakota. From 1987 to 1989, Thune served as a special assistant to Abdnor, who was at that time heading the Small Business Administration. In 1989, Thune became the executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party. He was the director of the state Railroad Division from 1991 to 1993. He then became head of the South Dakota Municipal League, an association of local governments in the state.
In 1996, Thune was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1998 and 2000. As a member of the House, Thune’s priorities included balancing the federal budget and reducing taxes.
In 2002, Thune did not run for reelection to the House. Instead, he ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate but lost in an extremely close race. In 2004, he ran again for the Senate and defeated Tom Daschle, who had been the Senate Democratic leader since 1995. Thune easily won reelection in 2010, 2016, and 2022. In 2019, Thune became the Republican whip—that is, the second-ranking member of his party in the Senate.
