Thune passes on #2 Senate GOP spot
Sen. John Thune won’t seek a promotion in the Republican Senate leadership, he announced today.
Thune had considered running for the #2 spot in the Republican Senate hierarchy, Senate Minority Whip.
But today he announced he’d instead seek reelection as the Senate GOP Conference Chair.
That will let Sen. John Cornyn of Texas run for the #2 spot and head off an internal caucus battle.
Cornyn, 60, and representing a safe Texas Senate seat, doesn’t look likely to go away any time soon. This could make any hopes Thune has of rising to be the GOP Senate leader more difficult.
Running for the conference chair job again also probably means Thune won’t run for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, another position his name had been connected to, but one people close to Thune said he never had that much interest in.
