Senator John Thune (R-SD) will be the new Senate Majority Leader after winning a closely contested election that was forced to a second ballot. A political moderate and protégé of the former Republican Leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Thune was widely considered the favorite to win—despite an insurgent campaign by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
Despite McConnell’s tutelage, the South Dakota Senator is not seen as nearly as effective a floor leader or as ruthless a political operator. Thune’s more reserved personality could present opportunities for President-elect Donald J. Trump‘s allies in the Senate to advance his America First agenda—especially by leveraging what the new Majority Leader cares about most: his donors.
Among Thune’s top donors are interests representing the finance, insurance, and real estate industries. The South Dakota Republican also draws contributions from Big Tech and the energy sector. One of Thune’s most consistent and largest corporate donors is New York Life Insurance. Since 2016, the insurance company has donated over $150,000—between individual and PAC contributions—directly to Thune’s campaign committee. Prudential Financial and Guardian Life Insurance are also major donors to Thune, though their total contributions are far lower than those from New York Life Insurance.
In addition to the insurance industry, Thune is backed by several technology and communications titans, including Google, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group. However, by and large, the new Senate Majority Leader’s largest corporate donor is NextEra Energy. Since 2016, the company has donated nearly $300,000 to Thune’s campaign committee.
Other major Thune donors include the Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, CGCN Group, Norfolk Southern, Arizona Tile, Capital Group Companies, Sanford Health, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
