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US Politics · 2026 midterm elections

Senate Republicans reelect Thune as leader and reject a push to delay the vote

Sen. Ron Johnson and a handful of colleagues sought a delay after the midterm losses, but Thune ran unopposed and will lead the minority.

23 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets
Liberal5 outletsThune keeps his job as frustrated colleagues ventCenter4 outletsThune wins uncontested despite a push to delayConservative14 outletsRebellion fizzles and Thune keeps power
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

Republicans reelected John Thune of South Dakota as their leader on Tuesday, after elections on Nov. 3 that cost the party at least seven Senate seats and the majority. Thune ran unopposed and takes over as Senate minority leader once the new begins in January. A handful of senators, led by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, had pushed to delay the leadership elections.

The conference voted to go ahead, and Johnson walked out as voting began. Johnson said his objection was not to Thune, whom he said the party's base has unfairly attacked. Fox News reports the vote to proceed was 31 to 15.

Several senators described the closed-door talks as frank, and no challenger to Thune emerged. The rest of the leadership team was also reelected, and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio was chosen to head the party's Senate campaign arm. Two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remain uncalled.

Some Republicans have criticized Thune for declining to change rules to pass the SAVE America Act, a voter ID bill. Trump said Thune is "a very fine man" and that the choice was up to the Senate.

Key figures
  • at least sevenSenate seats Republicans lost in the midtermsCBS News
  • 31 to 15vote to proceed with the election, by Fox News's accountFox News
  • no more than 46senators in the GOP minority when Congress convenes, per New York PostNew York Post
  • at least 54Senate seats Democrats will hold, per The Center SquareThe Center Square

Three sides of the story

5Liberal4Center14Conservative

23 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal5 outlets

Thune keeps his job as frustrated colleagues vent

The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour say senators vented in three separate meetings after an "election wipeout." The Inquirer quotes West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice on the "legitimate argument" against keeping the same leaders, and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley asking what message ratifying them sends. CBS News stresses that Johnson secured signatures from four colleagues but that the delay effort fell short, and it quotes him saying "that kind of defeat demands change" while adding it was never against Thune.

Semafor says Republicans voted to proceed despite delay requests from a handful of members and that most opted against a "period of purgatory." CBS also notes Thune's tenure included two record-breaking and tension with the White House. The Inquirer quotes Thune's floor speech saying Americans are not seeking "socialist government and leftist fantasies."

Center4 outlets

Thune wins uncontested despite a push to delay

Roll Call reports that Thune and the other leaders were elected by voice vote after the elections were pushed back by a few hours. It describes a morning conference meeting held at the request of five senators led by Ron Johnson. Several senators called that meeting "frank," and it pushed the elections back by a few hours.

Roll Call gives space to Johnson, who says "This has never been anything against John Thune," and to Josh Hawley. It also quotes Rand Paul, who says voters were reacting to gas prices, the Iran war and the cost of living, and Bernie Moreno, the new chair of the Senate campaign arm. Newsweek leads with what Trump has said of Thune, quoting him calling Thune "a very fine man."

It adds Thune's statement on X and House Republicans' choice of Jim Jordan over Steve Scalise as minority leader. The Hill reports that Thune won by acclamation after a "bruising showdown" with conservative critics. The Journal reports that Thune won re-election as head of the GOP conference and that Trump had pressed him for months over the SAVE America Act.

Conservative14 outlets

Rebellion fizzles and Thune keeps power

Fox News heads its report that the Senate GOP "rebellion fizzles." It reports that Johnson's attempt to delay failed on a 31 to 15 vote and that the closed-door talks lasted more than seven hours. It quotes Johnson saying "This has never been anything against John Thune" and gives Hawley space to criticize the party's record.

The New York Post opens with a "contentious hours-long meeting." It says Thune will lead a minority of no more than 46 senators, quotes Rand Paul describing "mostly dissent" and Jim Justice on the case for new leadership, and recalls the 37-10 vote by which McConnell beat Rick Scott in 2022. The Blaze calls the episode a "mini-revolt," says the effort "petered out" and describes Thune's "quasi-coronation."

The Center Square reports the reelection together with the other leadership results, Thune's statement, and Democrats holding at least 54 Senate seats. Thune's statement about holding the line against Democrats' "far-left, liberal agenda" appears in The Blaze and The Center Square.

All sources: 38 articles from 23 outlets

Liberal (6)

Center (9)

Conservative (23)

2026 midterm elections
  1. House Republicans decide between Scalise and Jordan to lead them in the minority
  2. Sanders says he won't support Schumer as Senate Democratic leader
  3. Senate Republicans reelect Thune as leader and reject a push to delay the voteThis story
  4. Republican Rep. Salazar wins Florida re-election after an automatic recount
  5. Republican Rep. Calvert defeats fellow Republican Rep. Kim in redrawn California district
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Senate

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Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day was November 3.

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The US parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill becomes law when both pass it and the president signs it.

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“Grand Old Party”: a nickname for the Republican Party, used since the 1870s. GOP and Republican mean the same thing.

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