Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) grew up in Murdo, South Dakota. His attraction to public service was sparked at a young age by an introduction to a well-known sports enthusiast and then-South Dakota U.S. Rep. Jim Abdnor, whom he was introduced to while in high school. This interest in public service took him to Washington, D.C., where he eventually served at the Small Business Administration under an appointment from President Ronald Reagan.
In 1989, he returned to South Dakota, where he served as the executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party. In 1991, then-Gov. George S. Mickelson appointed him to be state railroad director, a position he held until 1993, when he became executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League.
In 1996, Thune won his first term as South Dakota’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected to a second term by the largest margin in South Dakota history. He returned to Washington in 2001 to serve his third term in the House.
Thune then honored his 1996 campaign pledge to serve only three terms in the House. After a narrow loss in a U.S. Senate race in 2002, he won his current Senate seat in 2004 when he made history by defeating a sitting Senate party leader for the first time in 52 years. In 2010, Thune was elected to serve a second term in the Senate and to a third term in 2016.
For the 116th Congress, Thune serves on the agriculture, nutrition and forestry committee; the commerce, science and transportation committee; and the finance committee. He serves as chairman of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the internet and chairman of the finance committee's subcommittee on taxation and IRS oversight. He also serves as the Senate Republican whip and previously served as chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee from 2009–2011 and chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 2012-2018.
Thune received his undergraduate degree at Biola University and his master’s degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota.