Thune Moves Up

     South Dakota Sen. John Thune has been elected to the No. 3 spot in
the U.S. Senate's Republican leadership.
     Thune will become chairman of the Senate Republican Conference
in late January. The conference communicates Republican priorities
to the public.
     Thune already was the highest ranking Senate Republican in South
Dakota history, holding the No. 4 spot in the chamber's GOP
leadership as Policy Committee Chairman since 2009.
      The highest ranking Democratic senator from South Dakota was Tom
Daschle, the man Thune beat in 2004 to gain the Senate seat.
Daschle was Senate majority leader in 2001 through 2003 and was
minority leader in 1995-2001 and 2003-2004.