John Thune snags another endorsement in competitive GOP leader race to succeed McConnell

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., will be voting for Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., in the first secret ballot on Wednesday morning during the leadership elections.

“I told both Rick Scott and John Cornyn today that I’ll be casting my first vote for John Thune,” the North Dakota senator said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. 

Thune is competing against Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as Republican leader in the upper chamber. McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. 

“Thune has never lied to me,” Cramer said of the leader candidate. “I can’t say that of everybody.” 

Despite this comment, he maintained he has no “enemies” within the conference, which he said is a “good group.”

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He said making an endorsement was “the way to do it,” in his opinion. “There’s 53 of us. We all sought these positions of influence and, you know, appearing neutral seems sort of cowardice, if you will.”

As his reasoning for supporting Thune, the senator explained their long history, both coming from a Dakota. “I’ve known John Thune since we were children, basically,” he said, referencing the 1990 election cycle in both North and South Dakota when they were Republican Party directors. 

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“All four of us from the Dakotas, of course, are supporting him,” he added. Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., are publicly backing the former, but Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., hasn’t made a public endorsement. 

Hoeven’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“I mean, John and I have a long personal relationship. He’s a good friend. He is from the neighborhood,” Cramer said. 

According to the North Dakota Republican, he thinks the leader race will need to go to a second secret ballot, as one candidate must reach 27 votes in order to win. 

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As for the high-profile endorsements of Scott coming from external figures frequently aligned with President-Elect Donald Trump, Cramer said, “Everybody has an opinion. I mean, I have people in my own party in North Dakota that would like me to do one thing or another.”

But, he stressed that the Republican conference as a whole is in line with Trump. “I endorsed Donald Trump and Donald Trump endorsed me,” the senator said. 

“[W]hen it comes to the—literally the issue of governing, we’re all on the same team. The Republican majority in the Senate to a T is in sync with Donald Trump’s agenda.”

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Trump notably has not endorsed a leader candidate, despite the pressure coming from those in his orbit, such as billionaire X owner Elon Musk. 

Thune has also been endorsed by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. Cornyn was recently backed by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Scott is being supported by Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.