Thune prepared to take reins of U.S. Senate

Senator: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito at ‘critical age in life’

Fresh off of helping Republicans win a historic Election Day victory, South Dakota Sen. John Thune now has his own election ahead of him.

After participating in 200 campaign events in battleground states across the country in the lead up to the Nov. 5 election, Thune is asking his GOP Senate colleagues to vote for him as their caucus leader. This comes as Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Senate leader in history, relinquishes his position. Republican senators are slated to select a new leader on Nov. 13.

The new leader will be selected following a general election that saw Donald Trump win a landslide second term and Senate Republicans pick up a majority, with at least 53 seats. Thune helped secure that majority by hitting the campaign trail in every battleground state and raising an estimated $62 million for Republican candidates. His own campaign transferred a historic $4 million to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

ANALYSIS | New Republican lawmakers will decide legislative leadership races