Tag: john thune

Sen. John Thune (R) to pitch in across country.

I’m sure that the Democrats are kicking themselves right now:

The South Dakota Republican — who also leads the Senate GOP Policy Committee and is widely viewed as a 2012 presidential contender —is up for re-election this year. But no Democrat or Independent filed to run against him, leaving him with plenty of time and money to help Republicans win seats this November as the party seeks to regain a true sense of relevancy on Capitol Hill.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said Thursday he planned to meet with Thune soon to explore ways the up-and-coming first-term Senator could help the NRSC and GOP candidates from now until Election Day. Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) added that he fully expects Thune to be a strong political asset over the next 135 days.

Senator Thune is, after all, possessed of a dangerous combination: he’s able, popular, and not particularly busy this electoral cycle.  Two out of three would be a net gain for the GOP’s 2010 electoral campaigns; three out of three is very welcome news.  And since the DSCC’s recruiting program so spectacularly fell down on the job here*, you can even say that this bit of good fortune is ultimately due to the Democrats…

Moe Lane Continue reading Sen. John Thune (R) to pitch in across country.

#rsrh Tom Daschle will not be… *avenged*.

The amazing part of this story is how calmly people are taking it:

S.D. Dems Skip Senate Race Against GOP’s Thune

PIERRE — South Dakota Democrats have failed to find a candidate to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune.

Democratic Party officials had acknowledged earlier they might not find anyone to run against Thune, a popular politician who is seeking a second term in the Senate. The lack of a Democratic candidate became official Thursday when election officials posted the final list of candidates who submitted nominating petitions to run for statewide offices and the Legislature in the June primary.

Jim Geraghty notes that this isn’t going to help Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin; I’ll add that it’s not good news for probable Democratic gubernatorial challenger Scott Heidepriem, either.  On paper, this is not a bad battleground for the Democratic party.  They have an incumbent Democrat in the at-large House seat: a retiring Republican governor opening up that position; and a Republican Senator who beat the Democratic Senate Majority Leader in a squeaker in a GOP-friendly year up for re-election.  They should be aiming for a sweep; instead, they’ve cut their resources down to the bone.

Well, it’s easy to bet big when you’re winning anyway.

Moe Lane

PS: Thanks for the seat!  We’re going to use the resources we saved from not having to defend it to pick off a couple of Democratic-held House districts.  Much obliged!