Thune glides to victory in South Dakota Senate primary

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) easily survived a primary on Tuesday, putting him on a glide path to a fourth term in the Senate.

The Associated Press projected Thune would win his primary at 9:20 p.m. ET.

Thune, the Senate minority whip, irked former President Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election by waving off an effort by Trump and his allies to challenge the Electoral College vote and block President Biden’s victory.

At the time, Trump dubbed Thune a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, and predicted that he would be “primaried in 2022.”

But Thune faced only token opposition in the primary and ultimately coasted to victory on Tuesday over his four Republican rivals.

Thune’s victory in the primary sets him up for a race against Democrat Brian Bengs in November. Bengs is running unopposed in the Democratic Senate primary in South Dakota.

Even so, the race isn’t likely to be competitive. Trump carried South Dakota by a roughly 25-point margin in 2020, and Thune won handily in 2016, the last time he was on the ballot.