FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Whip John Thune, RS.D., is venturing into battleground states ahead of the election, helping boost Republicans in their bid to take over the Senate majority as he simultaneously seeks to become their next leader.
The Senate is on recess for the month of October and won’t be back until after the election, but Thune doesn’t seem to be slowing down just yet. This weekend, the low whip will be in Nevada for events with Senate candidate Sam Brown, who will take on vulnerable Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., a source shared with Fox News Digital.
After that, he headed to New York City to fundraise for Brown, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick, and former Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (NRSC).
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Thune had a similar travel plan in August. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Later in the month, a source told Fox News Digital that Thune will join McCormick in Pennsylvania, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., from Indiana and Tim Sheehy, from Montana.
He also has a series of events with several senators who are not up for re-election as he looks to secure more support in the GOP convention.
“It’s an inside game,” Ron Bonjean, former chief of staff for the Senate Republican Conference told Fox News Digital about the leadership race.
“John Thune is playing the inside game while showing enthusiasm – showing the public’s enthusiasm for going to the states.”
“They will remember that Thune was there a few weeks before the election,” said Bonjean, who was a spokesman for Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott when he was majority leader.
“Money is important, but exposure is. And if you can do both, that can really do wonders … for accumulating votes in the Senate.”
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Sheehy was praised for relieving Sen. Tester holding position. (Getty Images)
Thune is one of three announced leaders, along with Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
Cornyn has established himself as a major fundraiser during his tenure, something he is sure to hold onto in the race, given that outgoing minority leader Mitch McConnell is a fundraising behemoth.
A source familiar with the Texas Republican’s political career told Fox News Digital, “Senator Cornyn plans to visit many of the swing states across the country to campaign with candidates for the October recess and raise hard-earned dollars as he has done for the past two decades. More than $400 million since 2002.”
His regular fundraising is something he has seemed to emphasize in recent days, sending a letter to his network of donors this week highlighting the details and also clarifying that he has brought $500,000 to 33 different Republican senators over the years and raised more than $1. million each. four senators.
This cycle, Cornyn brought in $26 million for Republicans, $11.8 million for the NRSC. He served extensively as the NRSC chairman twice and was praised for his leadership in the role.
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Cornyn pointed to his strong fundraising record. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Thune has raised more than $29 million this cycle, and a source familiar with Fox News Digital said the South Dakota senator expects to hit $30 million during his October campaign.
Recently, he announced a record transfer of $4 million to the NRSC to help with competitive racing. Thune was the previous record holder, with a previous transfer of $2 million. According to the source, the whip’s lifetime transfer to the GOP campaign arm now exceeds $9 million. The leader hopes to be the NRSC’s most active senator this cycle, second only to NRSC Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont.
At a recent fundraiser for former president Trump’s campaign in Washington, DC, Thune brought in $2 million, which was part of the night’s total, a source familiar with the matter said.
The source also elaborated that the whip so far has headlined or is scheduled to headline nearly 200 events this cycle for Republican and NRSC candidates.
Thune has been on the streets a lot for the leadership candidates before the election, doing the same on the battlefield during the Senate recess in August. However, Cornyn has been busy in his home state of Texas, known for his fundraising prowess.
“Texas has a lot of wealthy donors with conservative values,” said one national GOP strategist.
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Cornyn, Thune and Scott announced their bids for leadership. (Getty Images)
Cornyn has attended a series of state fundraisers alongside the Trump-Vance campaign and has also traveled to Ohio and Pennsylvania to raise money for Moreno and McCormick. The Texas Republican has been a long-time fundraiser, increasing his giving around 2008.
Scott is facing the challenge of being in the cycle for re-election. As Florida endures a tropical storm, the senator is understood to be spending his time focusing on the storm and the safety of his constituents.
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After that, Scott is expected to spend more time campaigning for his re-election bid, with less power to travel the country compared to his out-of-cycle colleagues.
Notably, Thune is the only candidate so far with public endorsements from his colleagues, with the support of both Sens. Mike Rounds, RS.D., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.