Senate Majority Leader John Thune campaigned for Iowa Republican Ashley Hinson on Oct. 23, as Republicans work to retain a 53-seat majority in the Nov. 3 midterms.
The Associated Press reported that Thune told Hinson in a joint interview that her contest mattered to Republican efforts to keep control of the chamber. At the event, he also urged supporters to turn out.
Senate votes offer a record of legislative action during Thune’s leadership. On July 1, 2025, senators voted 50-50 on H.R. 1 before Vice President JD Vance broke the tie, producing a final 51-50 result. The chamber passed the GENIUS Act, which regulates payment stablecoins, 68-30 on June 17, 2025. On March 12, 2026, it approved H.R. 6644, a housing supply bill, 89-10.
Thune has also disagreed with President Donald Trump over Senate procedure. The AP reported that Trump urged Thune to eliminate the filibuster to move a Republican voting bill forward. Thune resisted, saying Republicans might need those debate protections if they later became the minority. The Senate generally needs 60 votes to close debate on legislation.
The Senate voted against a withdrawal resolution 49-50 on Sept. 24; it would have instructed the president to pull U.S. forces out of the conflict with Iran. The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) put regular gasoline at $4.284 per gallon for the week of Oct. 19. That was $1.265 above the year-earlier price and $0.047 below the previous week. The AP said Iowa farmers were dealing with elevated fuel bills alongside the effects of the Trump administration’s trade policy.
In an interview with CBS News, Thune said, “Nothing’s a guarantee. There are no layups.”
The AP reported that Senate Republicans planned a secret ballot on Thune’s future as leader roughly a week after the election. At the time of its report, no one had emerged as a challenger.
