John Thune Reelected as Senate Republican Leader After Failed Push to Delay Vote

admin · November 10, 2026 · 10 min read

The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where Senate Republicans reelected John Thune as their leader

John Thune Reelected as Senate Republican Leader After Failed Push to Delay Vote

Senate Republicans reelected John Thune as their leader on Tuesday, ending a tense day of closed-door debate over whether the party should keep the same leadership team after midterm losses that cost it control of the chamber.

Thune, the South Dakota Republican who has led the conference since early 2025, ran unopposed in a secret-ballot election for the 120th Congress. A group of his colleagues had pushed to postpone the vote to give the party more time to examine its defeat, but the conference declined to move the date, according to Bloomberg Government, which first reported the outcome Tuesday afternoon. The Associated Press confirmed the result shortly afterward.

The reelection means Thune will lead Senate Republicans into the minority when the new Congress convenes on January 3, 2027. Democrats won 54 Senate seats in the November 3 midterms, flipping the chamber after Republicans lost at least seven seats. Two Senate races — in Alaska and Mississippi — remain uncalled and could shrink the Republican minority further.

A morning of soul-searching, then a vote

The day began with a two-hour closed-door meeting in the Old Senate Chamber, where senators debated whether to hold the leadership elections at all. They left that session with no resolution, then reconvened in the afternoon to settle the question.

The push to delay came from Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who circulated a letter to Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton asking for a postponement. Johnson argued the conference needed “some real soul-searching” before ratifying the same leadership team.

“We can’t just continue on business as usual — that kind of defeat demands change,” Johnson said. He conceded, however, that no one else was on the ballot, joking to a reporter, “That’s part of our problem, who would want the job? Do you want it?”

At least five senators signed Johnson’s letter, including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah. Lee said any leadership contest should wait until the two outstanding Senate races are decided. Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania said over the weekend that Republicans should not select their leader until the election’s lessons had been “digested and debated.”

Senators were divided on how long a delay should last, with proposals ranging from a week to a month, the Associated Press reported. In the end, the conference voted to proceed.

The divisions were on full display as senators emerged from the morning meeting. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said the party needed to change course after its losses.

“If you don’t think after losing seven Senate seats minimum that we need to change course, I don’t know what planet you’re on,” Hawley told reporters.

But Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia captured the ambivalence many senators felt. “We want to be thoughtful and do the right thing,” Justice said. “There is a legitimate argument that, good gracious, if we lost as badly as we lost, why would we continue on with the same leadership?” At the same time, Justice said the current leadership “didn’t cause this problem to happen. They do a good job.”

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said there was “widespread support” for Thune, who he said had made a point of hearing out different viewpoints before making major decisions and had maintained close relationships with rank-and-file members — a different approach from his predecessor, Mitch McConnell. Lankford also noted the practical case for holding the elections Tuesday: many new Republican senators are already in town for freshman orientation.

“It’s a pretty complicated role to be able to manage,” Lankford said of Thune’s leadership post. “No one wants that job.”

Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said most senators were ready to move forward. “It is time to have leadership in place,” he said as he walked into the meeting.

Thune’s pitch: continuity and collaboration

Thune did not make a formal case for his own reelection during the morning session, senators emerging from the meeting said. Instead, he listened to his colleagues’ concerns, including from senators who won their races this year and some who lost.

Before the meeting, Thune had promised a “very fulsome, robust conversation about where we go from here and then we’ll see what the consensus of the conference is.”

In a Senate floor speech on Monday, his first extended remarks since the election, Thune called the midterms a “tough night” and previewed his pitch to colleagues who may be looking for answers about how the party will navigate the minority. He said Republicans would be willing to work with Democrats, but added that “the American people are not looking for socialist government and leftist fantasies.”

When he gets the chance to speak at the meeting, Thune is expected to emphasize his collaborative approach to his colleagues and point to what the conference accomplished in the last year — including the tax and spending cuts legislation and an attempt at reining in the chaotic annual spending process, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, one of the senators who signed Johnson’s delay letter, said the conference still needs a plan. “We need a plan to get the Republican agenda done,” Scott said.

Republicans in the meeting were also pushing Thune to keep the Senate in session around the clock in the coming weeks to push through war spending and other party priorities before they lose power, the Associated Press reported. The Senate advanced a sweeping energy permitting bill on Monday evening, the first major vote since the midterms, in a sign of the unfinished business facing the lame-duck session.

A leader who navigated Trump — and frustrated him

Thune succeeded Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell as Republican leader in early 2025, after winning a contested election that November. He has spent much of the last two years navigating President Donald Trump, who has often been at odds with the Senate.

While backing Trump on most policy, Thune has refused to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster to pass voting legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters — a position that frustrated Trump and angered some in the president’s political base.

Trump, for his part, has not publicly backed anyone in the Senate leadership contest. He hosted Thune and his family at the White House in October, and said Monday that the GOP leader is “a very fine man.” The election is “up to the Senate,” Trump said.

The president’s own response to the midterms has added to the party’s unease. Trump questioned whether the midterm results were honest, blaming voting machines without offering evidence, even as he had said on election night that he was willing to accept the results.

The rest of the team stays put

Beyond the top job, the rest of the Senate Republican leadership team remains the same, Punchbowl News reported. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio was elected to serve as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2028 cycle, the party’s campaign arm.

Across the Capitol, House Republicans completed their own leadership elections on Tuesday. Jim Jordan was elected House minority leader earlier Tuesday, defeating Majority Leader Steve Scalise 106-73 in a secret ballot. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota kept the whip job, the party’s No. 2 position, beating Rep. August Pfluger of Texas 103-76, according to Politico. Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan was reelected as conference chair. The result of the race for chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, between Reps. Rudy Yakym of Indiana and Brian Jack of Georgia, had not been announced as of Tuesday afternoon.

Democrats, who could hold as many as 54 seats next year, are having private discussions of their own about whether New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is still the right person to lead them. Schumer has found critics on the left and the right of his caucus as candidates from both sides declined during the campaign to say whether they would support him as leader. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Schumer’s colleague and the head of the Democratic Senate campaign arm, predicted he will win enough support, saying he “cares deeply, and he understands politics well.”

Why this matters

The outcome settles the immediate question of who speaks for Senate Republicans, but it does not settle the argument that consumed the conference on Tuesday. The senators who wanted a delay were not challenging Thune personally — no alternative candidate emerged — but were arguing that a party that just lost its majority should not simply ratify the status quo a week after the defeat.

That tension will follow Thune into the minority. As minority leader, he will have fewer tools than he had as majority leader: he will not control the Senate floor schedule, and he will need Democratic cooperation — or the threat of a filibuster — to shape legislation. At the same time, he will be the party’s chief negotiator with a Democratic majority and a Republican president entering the final two years of his term, a triangle that has already produced friction over spending, war powers and the rules of the Senate itself.

For now, the conference has chosen continuity. The test will come in the lame-duck weeks ahead, when Republicans must decide how much of their agenda they can still pass — and in January, when Thune takes up the minority leader’s job for the first time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the Senate Republican leader now?

John Thune of South Dakota. Senate Republicans reelected him on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, in a secret-ballot vote. He will serve as minority leader when the 120th Congress convenes on January 3, 2027, because Democrats won control of the Senate in the midterms.

Why did some senators want to delay the leadership vote?

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and at least four other senators argued the party should examine its midterm losses — at least seven Senate seats — before reelecting the same leadership team. They wanted a delay of a week to a month. The conference declined to postpone the vote.

Did anyone run against Thune?

No. Thune ran unopposed, and no alternative candidate emerged. The debate was over whether to hold the vote at all, not over whom to elect.

What happened in the House Republican leadership elections?

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was elected House minority leader, defeating Steve Scalise 106-73. Rep. Tom Emmer kept the whip job, beating August Pfluger 103-76, and Rep. Lisa McClain was reelected conference chair. The NRCC chair result had not been announced as of Tuesday afternoon.

Sources:

Associated Press, “John Thune reelected as Senate Republican leader after tense day of discussions about midterm defeats” (Nov. 10, 2026)
Bloomberg Government, “Thune Reelected as Senate GOP Leader After Bid to Delay Vote” (Nov. 10, 2026)
Political Wire / Punchbowl News, “John Thune Elected Senate Minority Leader” (Nov. 10, 2026)
Associated Press, “John Thune seeks another term as Senate Republican leader as the party reckons with election losses” (Nov. 10, 2026)
Political Wire / Politico, “Tom Emmer Moves Up to House GOP’s No. 2 Job” (Nov. 10, 2026)
2026 House Republican Conference leadership election results