Senate Majority Leader, Republican of South Dakota. Every point on this page links to its source. We don't grade officials or tell you how to vote. As of 2026-09-27.
In Congress: 517 bills and resolutions sponsored, 2804 cosponsored, 23 became law on their own (a bill folded into a larger law isn't counted). Congress.gov
Every Supreme Court confirmation while in the Senate, and Cabinet confirmations in the last two Congresses. Senate records, newest first.
Supreme Court
Voted Nay on Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (2022-04-07, Confirmed 53–47, roll call)
Voted Yea on Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (2020-10-26, Confirmed 52–48, roll call)
Voted Yea on Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (2018-10-06, Confirmed 50–48, roll call)
Voted Yea on Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (2017-04-07, Confirmed 54–45, roll call)
Voted Nay on Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S (2010-08-05, Confirmed 63–37, roll call)
Voted Nay on Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (2009-08-06, Confirmed 68–31, roll call)
Voted Yea on Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice (2006-01-31, Confirmed 58–42, roll call)
Voted Yea on John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States (2005-09-29, Confirmed 78–22, roll call)
Cabinet
Voted Yea on Todd Blanche, Attorney General (2026-08-08, Confirmed 50–49, roll call)
Voted Yea on Walter Clayton, Director of National Intelligence (2026-07-28, Confirmed 51–47, roll call)
Voted Yea on Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security (2026-03-23, Confirmed 54–45, roll call)
Voted Yea on Michael G. Waltz, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations (2025-09-19, Confirmed 47–43, roll call)
Voted Yea on Troy Meink, Secretary of the Air Force (2025-05-13, Confirmed 74–25, roll call)
Voted Yea on John Phelan, Secretary of the Navy (2025-03-24, Confirmed 62–30, roll call)
Voted Yea on Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor (2025-03-10, Confirmed 67–32, roll call)
Voted Yea on Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education (2025-03-03, Confirmed 51–45, roll call)
Voted Yea on Daniel Driscoll, Secretary of the Army (2025-02-25, Confirmed 66–28, roll call)
Voted Yea on Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (2025-02-19, Confirmed 52–46, roll call)
Voted Yea on Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce (2025-02-18, Confirmed 51–45, roll call)
Voted Yea on Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture (2025-02-13, Confirmed 72–28, roll call)
Voted Yea on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services (2025-02-13, Confirmed 52–48, roll call)
Voted Yea on Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (2025-02-12, Confirmed 52–48, roll call)
Voted Yea on Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (2025-02-06, Confirmed 53–47, roll call)
Voted Yea on Eric Turner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2025-02-05, Confirmed 55–44, roll call)
Voted Yea on Pamela Bondi, Attorney General (2025-02-04, Confirmed 54–46, roll call)
Voted Yea on Douglas Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2025-02-04, Confirmed 77–23, roll call)
Voted Yea on Christopher Wright, Secretary of Energy (2025-02-03, Confirmed 59–38, roll call)
Voted Yea on Douglas Burgum, Secretary of the Interior (2025-01-30, Confirmed 80–17, roll call)
Voted Yea on Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (2025-01-29, Confirmed 56–42, roll call)
Voted Yea on Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation (2025-01-28, Confirmed 77–22, roll call)
Voted Yea on Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury (2025-01-27, Confirmed 68–29, roll call)
Voted Yea on Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security (2025-01-25, Confirmed 59–34, roll call)
Voted Yea on Peter Hegseth, Secretary of Defense (2025-01-24, Confirmed 50–50, roll call)
Voted Yea on John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2025-01-23, Confirmed 74–25, roll call)
Voted Yea on Marco Rubio, Secretary of State (2025-01-20, Confirmed 99–0, roll call)
Accurate?
Where they stand
In their own words, from their official website and their statements on Government, summarised in plain English. Under each issue, their Senate votes: Final passage votes in the Senate in the last two Congresses (2023 to now), matched to each issue by Congress.gov's own topic for the bill (and its subject tags, unless it is a catch-all bill with dozens), closest votes first: a lopsided vote says little about where anyone stands.
Economy and cost of living
Thune says the economy is the top issue affecting Americans and that Washington should get out of the way by reducing taxes, cutting government red tape, and streamlining programs that encourage workforce participation, in order to support job creators and small businesses.
“Oftentimes the best thing Washington can do is get out of the way – that means reducing taxes, cutting back on government red tape, and streamlining programs that encourage workforce participation.”
Thune says he wants to lower taxes and let people keep more of what they earn, pointing to legislation that made 2017 tax cuts permanent, made the small business deduction permanent, and cut estate ('death') taxes for family farms, while also saying government spending should be reduced to live within a budget.
“Hardworking South Dakotans should be able to keep more of what they earn, and one of my top priorities is to lower their tax burden.”
Thune says he supports patient-centered health care solutions that make care more affordable through a more competitive private insurance market rather than expanding government's role, and he supports programs to strengthen rural health care access, such as telehealth and a Rural Health Transformation Program.
“We need to focus on solutions that will help make health care more affordable for all Americans,rather than expand the government’s role in providing health care.”
Thune says spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is growing at an unsustainable rate and that he is ready to reduce spending and enact reforms to strengthen these programs for current and future beneficiaries.
“I stand ready to reduce spending, enact meaningful reforms to strengthen existing programs for current and future beneficiaries, and ultimately put our nation’s fiscal house back in order.”
Thune says he has a 100 percent pro-life voting record, has consistently supported a ban on abortion, and will continue fighting in Congress to protect unborn life.
“As a member of Congress, I have a 100 percent pro-life voting record and have consistently supported a ban on abortion.”
Thune says he supports expanding American energy production of all kinds—including oil, natural gas, biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel, wind, and hydropower—to lower energy costs, reduce dependence on foreign energy, and boost the economy, while reducing regulatory burdens on energy producers.
“I will continue to support an all-of-the-above approach to clean energy.”
Thune says he strongly supports the Second Amendment right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms, backs removing financial and regulatory burdens on gun purchases such as the tax on suppressors and short-barrel firearms, and opposes policies that would suspend or curtail gun rights without due process.
“I strongly support the Second Amendment, which protects “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.””
From FEC filings for 2025–26. Outside spending is money a group spends on its own about a candidate — TV and online ads, mail, canvassing. It is not a donation to the campaign, and the candidate does not control it. Supporting means it was spent to help that candidate win; Opposing means it was spent to defeat them, usually on attack ads. Groups report it within 24 or 48 hours as the election nears. Raised is the campaign's own fundraising, as of its latest quarterly report. Largest donors come from each outside spender's own FEC receipts, with each donor's share of its itemized receipts; donors under $100,000 are not named. People are shown with the employer and occupation they reported. A donor that is itself a political committee is shown with its own largest donors. Companies and nonprofits don't report their funders to the FEC, so the trail ends there, and the page says so.
John Thune (REP, incumbent)
Raised
$4.1M through 2026-06-30individuals $1.3M · PACs $758K · from the candidate's other committees $885K · cash on hand $17.7M
Outside spending
none reported
166 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election
ABBVIE PAC $5,000
ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION PAC $5,000
AES CORPORATION PAC $5,000
ALLY FINANCIAL INC ADVOCACY PAC $5,000
ALSTON & BIRD PAC $5,000
AMALGAMATED SUGAR COMPANY PAC $5,000
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC PAC $5,000
AMERICAN CLEAN POWER ASSOCIATION (CLEANPOWER PAC) $5,000
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES PAC $10K
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS PAC $2,500
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR COMPANY PAC $5,000
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER PAC $2,500
AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INSURANCE PAC $2,500
AMERICAN FOREST & PAPER ASSN PAC (AF&PA PAC) $5,000
AMERICAN GAS ASSOCIATION PAC $5,000
AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB INC PAC $2,000
AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE PAC $3,000
AMERICAN PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION $5,000
AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION PAC $2,500
AMGEN INC PAC $5,000
ANYWHERE REAL ESTATE INC. PAC (ANYWHERE REAL ESTATE PAC) $5,000
ASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING PROFESSIONALS PAC $3,000
AT&T INC. EMPLOYEE FEDERAL PAC $2,000
AVANGRID PAC $2,500
BANK POLICY INSTITUTE PAC $2,500
BARCLAYS GROUP US INC PAC $5,000
BAXTER HEALTHCARE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2,500
BECTON DICKINSON AND COMPANY PAC $5,000
BLACK & VEATCH POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5,000
BLESSEY MARINE SERVICES INC $1,000
BP CORPORATION NORTH AMERICA INC PAC $5,000
BRIDGEBIO PHARMA INC. PAC (BRIDGEBIOPAC) $3,500
CAMBIA HEALTH SOLUTIONS INC. PAC $5,000
CARDINAL HEALTH INC $10K
CARGILL INC PAC $2,500
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS INC PAC $10K
CIGNA GROUP EMPLOYEE PAC $2,500
CITIGROUP INC PAC FEDERAL $2,500
CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP INC PAC $5,000
CONOCOPHILLIPS SPIRIT PAC $10K
CONSUMER BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC $5,000
CONSUMER BRANDS PAC $5,000
CROP INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION PAC $10K
CROP INSURANCE REINSURANCE BUREAU PAC $2,500
CSX CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND $5,000
CTIA- THE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION $1,500
CUNA MUTUAL HOLDING COMPANY/TRUSTAGE PAC $2,000
DAIRY FARMERS OF AMERICA INC PAC (DFA - PAC) $10K
DARLING INGREDIENTS INC PAC $3,500
DAY & ZIMMERMANN INC FEDERAL PAC (AKA 'DAYPAC - FEDERAL') $2,500
DELAWARE NORTH COMPANIES, INC. PAC $5,000
DENTONS US LLP PAC $1,500
DOW INC. PAC (DOWPAC) $5,000
EDISON INTERNATIONAL PAC $2,500
ELEKTA HOLDINGS US, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE ('ELEKTAPAC') $5,000
ELEVANCE HEALTH PAC $5,000
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY PAC $3,500
EMPLOYEES OF RTX CORPORATION PAC $3,500
ENERGY MARKETERS OF AMERICA/SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE $5,000
ENTERGY CORP PAC $5,000
EXELON CORPORATION PAC $7,500
FEDERAL BIPARTISAN VOLUNTARY PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC PAC $5,000
FEDEX CORPORATION PAC $3,000
FINANCIAL SERVICES FORUM PAC $1,500
FOLEY & LARDNER POLITICAL FUND INC $2,000
FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE NORTH AMERICA PAC $5,000
GE HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES INC. PAC $8,500
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY PAC (GE AEROSPACE PAC) $5,000
What named supporters and critics say, as reported. Shown in equal numbers.
Praise
McConnell: Called Thune an outstanding senator and said it would be a setback for the party and country if he retired npr.org
Accurate?
Sen. Kevin Cramer: Cramer says he is endorsing Thune for Senate GOP leader because Thune has always been honest with him. foxnews.com
Accurate?
Criticism
John Cornyn ally: Suggested Thune and Cornyn hate Trump and what he ran on thehill.com
Accurate?
Hakeem Jeffries: Said Thune is 'afraid of his own shadow' and accused him of breaking up appropriations bills at Trump's order washingtonexaminer.com
Accurate?
Controversies
Stated as reported. Most are reported by at least two independent news outlets or found in an official record; any with only one source so far is marked Single source.
Allegations
FEC complaint alleging campaign finance violations by Thune committee
A sworn administrative complaint filed with the FEC alleges that Friends of John Thune, Thune as candidate, and treasurer Nicole Weyers engaged in structured, high-frequency contribution patterns consistent with contributions in the name of another and false reporting; the FEC declined to process the complaint, and the complainant has sued the FEC over that refusal.
Semblen analyzed 2 of John Thune's statements on Government; 2 used at least one manipulation technique, most often Loaded Language, Name Calling, Exaggeration/Hyperbole.
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