U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 13, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has fears about the Nov. 3 election, which is now just 62 days away.
Speaking to his local CBS affiliate, KELO-TV, Thune said he is less concerned about losing the legislative filibuster than about the GOP majority in the Senate.
“I worry about that, for sure,” Thune said. “I’m a realist, and I just think you, I don’t ever try and sugarcoat things. I think it’s a competitive environment right now. I think we got the highest-quality candidates.”
There are a number of reasons for it, Thune said, though they all tie back to President Donald Trump's policies.
“I’m sympathetic to what he’s trying to get done,” Thune said about importing foreign beef at a time of shrinking support workforce for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Thune doesn't appear to support the idea.
“He’s trying to lower beef prices, which I think we’re all supportive of. I just don’t think this is the way to do it. And so, we have a lot of beef producers here in South Dakota; they produce the highest-quality beef in the world, and we’re trying to build our herds back up," he explained.
In the wide-ranging interview, Tune celebrated Trump's Iran war, claiming it's been "very successful."
“The challenge we have right now is Strait of Hormuz and the economic impact that’s having on gas prices in this country, and that’s where keeping it open and making sure that the Iranians can’t restrict or tax or toll in international waterway is really important," he told KELO.
The Strait of Hormuz had never been closed before the bombing campaign by the U.S. CBS News showed a huge drop-off from tankers making their way from Iran to the rest of the world in the first few months of the war. Wall Street financier Steve Rattner posted a more recent account of where traffic is today using the IMF's PortWatch. While there was an uptick during the ceasefire, that has now turned down again.
Thune also appeared to disagree somewhat on data centers. While he supports them, he also wants them to be blocked from using any power and water from local communities. He said companies shouldn't try to shove their centers down the throats of localities that don't want them there.
“These entities need to be self-sufficient,” Thune said. “They ought to be able to take care of their own utilities, their own power, and that ought to be a given any place they go in the country. But they shouldn’t be going places where there isn’t support for them at the local level.”