Americans know little about Thune as he prepares to lead Senate GOP: Survey

Americans know very little about the new Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) as he prepares to lead the Senate that will operate under a Republican majority, according to a survey that was released on Thursday. 

The Economist/YouGov poll found that the South Dakota Republican is unknown to half of Republican voters. Around 56 percent of total respondents said they don’t know enough about the new upper chamber leader. 

Around 19 percent of respondents said they have a very or somewhat favorable view of Thune, who was elected to the post in mid-November, in the survey conducted Dec. 29-31. Another 25 percent said they have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of the senator, according to the same survey. 

In his first address as the newly-elected leader, Thune on Friday said that one of his top priorities will be “preserving” the filibuster. 

“One of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate. That means preserving the legislative filibuster — the Senate rule that today has perhaps the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate,” he said. 

Apart from preserving the rule and working on restoring the Senate “as a place of discussion and deliberation,” Thune laid out the top priorities for Republicans, which included defense spending, handling the southern border, extending the President-elect Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and deregulation. 

Thune’s predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.), favorability is at 18 percent, according to the poll. Nearly two-thirds, 60 percent, said they had an unfavorable view of the veteran lawmaker. Some 22 percent said they didn’t know enough about the Kentucky Senator. 

The survey was conducted among 1,552 U.S. adults. It had a margin of error of 3.4 percent.