Senate GOP insurgents campaign against Washington — except John Thune

They want to topple GOP senators. Knocking off Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as majority leader is a different story.

Republican Senate candidates primarying incumbents are vocal about rooting out those they deem insufficiently conservative or misaligned with President Donald Trump. But they withhold criticism when it comes to supporting Thune for another term atop the conference as they approach the primary elections, sparing the relatively new party leader from the crossfire.

If elected to the upper chamber, the GOP candidates’ first unofficial vote in the weeks after the November midterm elections and before taking office would be on a secret ballot whether to extend Thune’s tenure for the next Congress that starts January 2027.

Senate Republican hopefuls including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to stake out a position. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX)