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John Thune

Republican. South Dakota’s Senate seat, on the ballot November 7, 2028.

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Age on Election Day 2028
67
On November 7, 2028. Born January 7, 1961.
Lean
R+15
Solidly Republican. Statewide, 2025 Cook PVI.
In the Senate since
2005
Took office January 3, 2005.7
Approval
49%
39% disapprove. Morning Consult.3

Overview

Cash on hand
$17,917,155
Federal Election Commission, October quarterly report13

Last election
69.6%
Share of the vote.12

The state in 2024
Trump won South Dakota in 2024.
Earlier offices
  • U.S. House, 1997 to 2003
2028 plans
Declined to say firmly whether he will run again in 2028, and said he will decide “down the road.” Source: Semafor (opens in a new tab), June 24, 2026.

Lean is the state’s 2025 Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI): R+5 to R+9 is lean Republican, R+10 and up solidly Republican, and D+ leans Democratic. Approval is the latest published Morning Consult rating, from its quarterly survey of registered voters in each state. Last election is the share of the vote the senator won. Cash on hand is the campaign’s money at the end of the reporting period named.

Sources (7)
  1. 1John Thune, official page Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  2. 22025 Cook PVI, state list (Cook Political Report), checked against the 2020 and 2024 presidential results Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Morning Consult, approval, April 1 to June 30, 2026 Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Semafor, June 24, 2026 Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Senate committee assignments, senate.gov Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Senate leadership, senate.gov Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Senators by date of first service, senate.gov Open the source (opens in a new tab)

In the Senate

In the Senate since
January 3, 2005
Leadership posts
  • Senate Majority Leader, 119th Congress
Committees
  • Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Finance
  • Intelligence

A gold mark names a leadership post. The posts and committees are the 119th Congress’s, as senate.gov lists them: a chair led a full committee for the majority, a ranking member was the senior member of the minority on it. The 120th Congress, which Democrats control, names its own in January 2027.

The filibuster

The senator’s own public position, from a recorded vote or a dated statement. A talking filibuster requires senators to hold the floor to block a vote.

Ending the legislative filibuster

Opposes

“Preserving the filibuster is crucial to preserving the Senate’s checks-and-balances role in our system of government.”

Sen. John Thune floor remarks (opens in a new tab), January 23, 2025.

A talking filibuster

Opposes

Voted against the January 19, 2022 rules change that would have required a talking filibuster on the voting-rights bill.

Senate roll call vote (opens in a new tab), January 19, 2022.

Sources (2)
  1. 8Sen. John Thune floor remarks, January 23, 2025 Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  2. 9Senate roll call vote, January 19, 2022 Open the source (opens in a new tab)

The state’s other seat

South Dakota’s other Senate seat is not on the 2028 ballot.

Senator
Mike Rounds (opens in a new tab)
Party
Republican
Next on the ballot
2032The current term ends January 3, 2033.

The two seats are on different ballots: this one in 2028, the other in 2032. From the 120th Congress Senate roster: holdover senators from congress-legislators (retrieved 2026-10-03) and the November 3, 2026 winners called by NBC News and the Associated Press, merged by scripts/build_120th.py (opens in a new tab) dataset, retrieved November 5, 2026.

Sources (2)
  1. 10Mike Rounds’s official site Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  2. 11120th Congress Senate roster: holdover senators from congress-legislators (retrieved 2026-10-03) and the November 3, 2026 winners called by NBC News and the Associated Press, merged by scripts/build_120th.py dataset Retrieved November 5, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Election history

2022 election
Won with 69.6% of the voteOfficial results (opens in a new tab)
2028
Six-year term. The seat is on the ballot November 7, 2028.
Sources (1)
  1. 12Official results, 2022 Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Financial records

Cash on hand
$17,917,155

Reported to
Federal Election Commission, October quarterly report (opens in a new tab)

Cash on hand from the latest Federal Election Commission filing of the senator’s campaign committee.

Sources (1)
  1. 13Federal Election Commission, October quarterly report Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Scorecards

Heritage Action (opens in a new tab) lifetime
64
Club for Growth (opens in a new tab) lifetime
72
Turning Point Action (opens in a new tab) lifetime
64
GOP Platform (opens in a new tab) 2025
77
The link opens the scorecard’s list for the state, which shows this score: the member’s own page is not available.

Progressive scorecards, out of 100

League of Conservation Voters (opens in a new tab) lifetime
10
Progressive Punch (opens in a new tab) lifetime, all votes
4
The link opens the scorecard’s list for the state, which shows this score: the member’s own page is not available.
Stop Corruption Now (Democracy Defenders Action) (opens in a new tab) 119th Congress, 10 measures
No score published
The link opens the scorecard’s main page: the group has no page for this member.

Mirrored for every senator of either party: the League of Conservation Voters’ lifetime score, read from the senator’s page; Progressive Punch’s lifetime score on all votes, read from its Senate table; and Democracy Defenders Action’s Stop Corruption Now score for the 119th Congress (September 16, 2026), its total on 10 anti-corruption and pro-democracy votes and cosponsorships, shown out of 100. No score means none was published.

Each out of 100, as the group publishes it: Heritage Action and Turning Point Action (the senator’s lifetime scores), Club for Growth (the senator’s lifetime rating) and GOP Platform (2025), which measures agreement with the national Republican Party platform and is published by the Institute for Legislative Analysis.

“No score published” means the group published none, not zero.

How to read this

Each group’s name links to the senator’s own page on its scorecard, or to the scorecard’s list for the state where the line under it says so, opened on the date shown.

Sources (7)
  1. 14Heritage Action scorecard, John Thune’s page Retrieved October 4, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  2. 15Club for Growth scorecard, John Thune’s page Retrieved October 4, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  3. 16Turning Point Action scorecard, John Thune’s page Retrieved October 4, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  4. 17GOP Platform scorecard, list for South Dakota (John Thune’s own page is not available) Retrieved October 4, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  5. 18League of Conservation Voters scorecard, John Thune’s page Retrieved October 31, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  6. 19Progressive Punch scorecard, list for South Dakota (John Thune’s own page is not available) Retrieved October 31, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  7. 20Stop Corruption Now (Democracy Defenders Action) scorecard, main page (no page for this senator) Retrieved October 31, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Endorsements

By the groups the House field tracks for Republicans: Donald Trump, Club for Growth, Turning Point Action and MAHA PAC.

2028 race so far

None on record: Donald Trump, Club for Growth, Turning Point Action, MAHA PAC.

Sources: trumpstruth.org (opens in a new tab); ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab); clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab); tpaction.com (opens in a new tab); FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2023-24 (opens in a new tab); FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2025-26 (opens in a new tab).

2022 race

None on record: Donald Trump, Club for Growth, Turning Point Action, MAHA PAC.

Sources: ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab); FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2021-22 (opens in a new tab).

None on record: no endorsement found in the sources listed.

Sources (7)
  1. 21Endorsements, 2028 race so far: trumpstruth.org Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  2. 22Endorsements, 2028 race so far: ballotpedia.org Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  3. 23Endorsements, 2028 race so far: clubforgrowth.org Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  4. 24Endorsements, 2028 race so far: tpaction.com Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  5. 25Endorsements, 2028 race so far: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2023-24 Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  6. 26Endorsements, 2028 race so far: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2025-26 Open the source (opens in a new tab)
  7. 27Endorsements, 2022 race: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2021-22 Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Each section lists its own sources, numbered through the page. Here they are together.

All sources for this record (27)

Overview

  1. 1John Thune, official page (opens in a new tab)
  2. 22025 Cook PVI, state list (Cook Political Report), checked against the 2020 and 2024 presidential results (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Morning Consult, approval, April 1 to June 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Semafor, June 24, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Senate committee assignments, senate.gov (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Senate leadership, senate.gov (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Senators by date of first service, senate.gov (opens in a new tab)

The filibuster

  1. 8Sen. John Thune floor remarks, January 23, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
  2. 9Senate roll call vote, January 19, 2022 (opens in a new tab)

The state’s other seat

  1. 10Mike Rounds’s official site (opens in a new tab)
  2. 11120th Congress Senate roster: holdover senators from congress-legislators (retrieved 2026-10-03) and the November 3, 2026 winners called by NBC News and the Associated Press, merged by scripts/build_120th.py dataset (opens in a new tab) Retrieved November 5, 2026.

Election history

  1. 12Official results, 2022 (opens in a new tab)

Financial records

  1. 13Federal Election Commission, October quarterly report (opens in a new tab)

Scorecards

  1. 14Heritage Action scorecard, John Thune’s page (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  2. 15Club for Growth scorecard, John Thune’s page (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  3. 16Turning Point Action scorecard, John Thune’s page (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  4. 17GOP Platform scorecard, list for South Dakota (John Thune’s own page is not available) (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  5. 18League of Conservation Voters scorecard, John Thune’s page (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 31, 2026.
  6. 19Progressive Punch scorecard, list for South Dakota (John Thune’s own page is not available) (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 31, 2026.
  7. 20Stop Corruption Now (Democracy Defenders Action) scorecard, main page (no page for this senator) (opens in a new tab) Retrieved October 31, 2026.

Endorsements

  1. 21Endorsements, 2028 race so far: trumpstruth.org (opens in a new tab)
  2. 22Endorsements, 2028 race so far: ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)
  3. 23Endorsements, 2028 race so far: clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab)
  4. 24Endorsements, 2028 race so far: tpaction.com (opens in a new tab)
  5. 25Endorsements, 2028 race so far: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2023-24 (opens in a new tab)
  6. 26Endorsements, 2028 race so far: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2025-26 (opens in a new tab)
  7. 27Endorsements, 2022 race: FEC bulk data, committee contributions to candidates, 2021-22 (opens in a new tab)

Continue

Record 30 of 35 in the Senate field, in order of state.

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