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John Thune
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Thune | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Tim Johnson (politician) |
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| Preceded by | Tom Daschle |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2011) |
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| In office January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Tim Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Bill Janklow |
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| Born | January 07, 1961 Murdo, South Dakota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kimberley Thune |
| Religion | Evangelical Christian |
John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961) is the junior Republican U.S. Senator from the state of South Dakota.
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Thune was born in Pierre, South Dakota to Yvonne Patricia Bodine and Harold Richard Thune; his paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Norway.[1] He was raised in Murdo, South Dakota and graduated in 1983 from Biola University, an evangelical Christian college located near Los Angeles, and received an MBA from the University of South Dakota in 1984.
Thune and his wife Kimberley are devoted evangelical Christians and have two daughters, Brittany and Larissa. His brother, Richard Thune is a teacher at John A. Rowland High School in southern California.
A member of the Republican Party, Thune worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator James Abdnor. Under President Reagan, Thune worked at the Small Business Administration. From 1991 until 1993, Thune was the Railroad Director of South Dakota under an appointment by Governor George S. Mickelson.
In 1996, Thune was elected to South Dakota's seat in the United States House of Representatives; he won reelection in 1998 and in 2000 was reelected with over 70% of the vote. Thune supported term limits and promised to serve no more than three terms in the House, and ran for the Senate afterwards. In 2002, he challenged Senator Tim Johnson, but lost to Johnson by 524 votes or 0.15%. Ultimately, Thune decided not to pursue a recount. Instead, Thune ran for the Senate again two years later against Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. The race was the most expensive in South Dakota history up to that point and was characterized by much mud-slinging on both sides.In this and previous elections, Thune ran on a social conservative platform, emphasizing his evangelical faith and supporting an amendment to the United States Constitution specifically banning gay marriage. According to Newsweek (July 26, 2004), he does not believe in Darwinian Evolution. On November 2, 2004, Thune narrowly defeated Daschle by 4,508 votes, winning 51% of the vote.
Soon after arriving in the Senate, Thune was faced with the challenge of keeping Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, South Dakota (near Rapid City) open after the Department of Defense announced plans to close the base as part of its 2005 round of base closures. The Pentagon announced that it planned to move all of Ellsworth's B-1 bombers to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Ellsworth Air Force Base is one of South Dakota's largest employers, and a critical component of the state's economic well-being, making it necessary for the state's political leaders to fight for its continued existence. Senator Thune, along with Senator Tim Johnson (D), lobbyied Washington, specifically the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, to keep Ellsworth open. In their lobbying efforts, they argued that it made little sense to consolidate all of the nation's B-1s in a single location due to the risk of a single attack or tornado taking out the fleet. Also, it was discovered that the Pentagon may have overlooked a lawsuit that possibly prevented B-1 pilots at Dyess from engaging in adequate training. Ultimately, the BRAC Commission voted 8-1 to reverse the Pentagon's recommendation to close Ellsworth.[1]
In June 2006, in line with several of his Republican colleagues, Thune reaffirmed his strong support to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same sex marriages. He is quoted on the matter, "The federal marriage amendment debate simply is an opportunity for us to affirm our support for marriage.... It is an important debate to have in this country."[2]
In a 2005 interview with Christianity Today, Thune added another reason for the invasion of Iraq beyond WMDs or alleged terrorist connections: "Liberating Iraq from decades of tyranny and dictatorship, bringing about political freedom, will create an atmosphere of where religious freedom will come to Iraq. And that opens the door, obviously, for the Christian faith there as well."[3]
In June 2006 it was reported that Thune had told the National Press Club that Republicans running for re-election are trying to distance themselves from President Bush. He is quoted as saying "If I were running in the state this year, you obviously don't embrace the president and his agenda,".[4] Thune's comments drew a round of criticism from some Republicans.
| South Dakota U.S. Senate Election 2004 | |||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | John Thune | 197,848 | 50.5 | ||
| Democratic | Tom Daschle (Incumbent) | 193,340 | 49.4 | -12.7 | |
| 2002 United States Senate election, South Dakota | |||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Tim Johnson (Incumbent) | 167,481 | 49.6 | -1.7 | |
| Republican | John Thune | 166,957 | 49.5 | ||
- United States Senator John Thune official Senate site
- John Thune's biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- John Thune's voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- John Thune's campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- John Thune's campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- John Thune's biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- John Thune's issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- John Thune at the Internet Movie Database
- New York Times — John R. Thune News collected news and commentary
- Political Money Line — John Thine campaign contributions
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — John Thune profile
- Representative-Elect John Thune (R-SD) CNN, 1996 profile
- Friends of John Thune official campaign site
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Tim Johnson |
Member from South Dakota's At-large congressional district 1997 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Bill Janklow |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Tom Daschle |
Senator from South Dakota (Class 3) 2005 – present Served alongside: Tim Johnson |
Incumbent |
| Committee | Position |
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| Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry | Subcommittee Ranking Member |
| Armed Services | Subcommittee Ranking Member |
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation | |
| Small Business and Entrepreneurship |
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| Class 2: Pettigrew • Gamble • Sterling • McMaster • Bulow • H. Bushfield • V. Bushfield • Mundt • Abourezk • Pressler • T. Johnson Class 3: Moody • Kyle • Kittredge • Crawford • E. Johnson • Norbeck • Hitchcock • Pyle • Gurney • Case • Bottum • McGovern • Abdnor • Daschle • Thune |
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| Senators | Tim Johnson (D) , John Thune (R) |
| Representative(s) | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) |
| All delegations | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Thune, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States Senator from South Dakota |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 7, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pierre, South Dakota |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |