By — Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press By — Steven Sloan, Associated Press Steven Sloan, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/senate-republicans-vote-to-keep-thune-as-leader-after-election-wipeout Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Senate Republicans vote to keep Thune as leader after election wipeout Politics Nov 10, 2026 4:05 PM EST WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans reelected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader of the GOP conference after a tense day of discussions about steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. Thune was always expected to prevail, as he is popular with his GOP colleagues and was running unopposed in the secret ballot election. But Senate Republicans vented their frustrations in three separate meetings on Tuesday after an election wipeout that cost them at least seven Senate seats. Some Republicans had…
Senate Republicans vote to keep Thune as leader after election wipeout
In short
Lawmakers reaffirmed their confidence in John Thune through an uncontested secret ballot following tense internal meetings regarding the party's recent midterm defeat. While senators such as Ron Johnson and Josh Hawley unsuccessfully pushed to delay the vote for broader party reassessment, allies like Jim Lankford praised Thune's willingness to listen to diverse perspectives. Moving forward, lawmakers are urging leadership to maintain around-the-clock sessions to advance priorities like war spending before relinquishing majority control.
Key points
- Republican lawmakers maintained leadership stability by backing John Thune despite intern…: Republican lawmakers maintained leadership stability by backing John Thune despite internal divisions over severe midterm election losses.
- The conference rejected attempts to delay leadership elections and prioritized swift cons…: The conference rejected attempts to delay leadership elections and prioritized swift consolidation as they prepare to transition into the Senate minority.
- Lawmakers are urging leadership to hold continuous Senate sessions in the final weeks of…: Lawmakers are urging leadership to hold continuous Senate sessions in the final weeks of their majority to push through critical war spending priorities.