Feb 22, 2011

GOP Sen. John Thune to skip 2012 race for president

12:17 PM
Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a rising star in the Republican Party, said today he will not run for president in 2012.

"There is a battle to be waged over what kind of country we are going to leave our children and grandchildren and that battle is happening now in Washington, not two years from now," Thune said in a statement, made with his wife Kimberley, on his Facebook page.

"So at this time, I feel that I am best position to fight for America's future here in the trenches of the United States Senate," he said.

Thune earned national recognition and a reputation as a political giant-killer when he defeated Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004. In recent weeks, a fundraiser for the Republican had been making calls in New Hampshire to gauge support for a Thune presidential bid.

Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership team, also introduced himself to a national GOP audience earlier this month with a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Several GOP politicians who are better-known than Thune -- including Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels and Ron Paul -- are in various stages of deciding whether to seek their party's nomination to face President Obama next year.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... titialskip