A survey released Thursday found that Americans know little about new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., as he prepares to lead a Senate that will operate under a Republican majority.
South Dakota Republicans are unknown to half of Republican voters, according to an Economist/YouGov poll. About 56% of all respondents said they did not know enough about the new House of Councilors leader.
In the survey conducted Dec. 29-31, about 19% of respondents said they had a very or somewhat favorable view of Thune, who was elected in mid-November. Another 25% said they had a somewhat or very unfavorable view of the senator, according to the same survey.
In his first speech as newly elected leader, Thune said Friday that one of his top priorities will be “preserving” the filibuster.
“One of my priorities as leader is to ensure that the Senate remains a Senate. This means preserving the legislative filibuster. “These are the Senate rules that have the greatest impact today in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate,” he said.
In addition to working to preserve the rules and restore the Senate to “a place of debate and deliberation,” Thune laid out top Republican priorities, including defense spending, addressing the southern border and extending President-elect Trump’s tax cuts. Employment law and deregulation.
Polls show Thune’s predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has a favorability rating of 18%. Nearly two-thirds (60%) responded that they had a negative view of the veteran lawmaker. About 22% said they did not know enough about the Kentucky senator.
This survey was conducted on 1,552 American adults. The margin of error was 3.4%.
