Newsfront


Thune Unveils Plan to Boost GOP Majority in U.S. Senate


He says Americans must be told how Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will really benefit them.


S BY ADAM PACK


enate majority leader John Thune is already work- ing on his pitch to persuade voters to elect Republican can-


didates in next year’s midterms. Following a major victory in July in


passing President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the South Dakota Republican has turned his focus to sell- ing the public on the president’s land- mark law, one of several prongs in his midterm success playbook to expand the Senate GOP’s 53-seat majority. Though Democrats are hitting the


stump to argue the legislation is harm- ful to most Americans, Thune is calling on Republicans to defend their “record of accomplishment” and articulate a compelling message about the law’s benefits that will motivate voters to go to bat for Republicans in 2026. “You’ve got to have a very targeted,


focused way of turning voters out, and be able to deliver your message to them so that they’re motivated and have a reason to turn out,” Thune told the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF). “It will be a full-on effort to make


sure that the American people fully understand what was in the ‘big, beau- tiful bill’ and how it impacts and ben- efits them.” Both Republicans and Democrats’ early messaging ahead of the midterms suggests Trump’s tax and immigration law could be a defining issue of the 2026 election cycle. Whether Republicans are success-


ful in winning the messaging battle could determine Trump’s final two years in office. Republicans may have


8 NEWSMAX | SEPTEMBER 2025


more work to do in informing voters of the law’s benefits, given recent polling showing a majority of those surveyed viewing the president’s signature leg- islative accomplishment unfavorably. Opposition to the law outweighed


support by 10 points, according to a Wall Street Journal poll published in late July. The survey also found the leg- islation is viewed unfavorably by 54% of independents. However, Thune and other Repub-


licans are betting that voters will be open to persuasion and that many of the bill’s individual components will ultimately be viewed as popular. No Democrat lawmaker backed the


president’s signature law, and many dubbed the measure the “one big, ugly bill.” A majority — 54% — of Americans said the law’s provisions permanently extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, temporarily shielding certain Ameri- cans from taxation on tips, and expand- ing tax relief for seniors and parents were more of a reason to support the bill than oppose it, according to a July CNN poll. One Nation, a public advocacy orga-


nization linked to Thune, has begun running an eight-figure advertisement campaign in six states emphasizing the law’s tax components. “America is back — thanks to President Trump and leader John Thune’s working family tax cuts,” one ad running nationally says, in part. “Real relief for every American up early and home late.” “That, I think, is probably the first


message out of the gate,” Thune said regarding the outside groups’ “working


family tax cuts” messaging. “But there’s a lot of stuff in the bill


that you can talk about,” Thune said, mentioning a $1,000 tax-free contribu- tion to a savings account for children born between 2025 and 2028, slowing the rate of spending in entitlement pro- grams, and a new tax maneuver subsi- dizing private school tuition. Some Senate Republican hopefuls


are already highlighting how the tax pro- visions will put more money back into the pocketbooks of their constituents. “Our waitresses and waiters all


across the state just got a huge lift by not having to pay taxes on their tips,” for- mer Republican Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, a Trump-backed candidate running to flip Michigan’s open Senate seat red, told DCNF. The majority leader is also mak-


ing strides in the other buckets of his midterm strategy: raising an avalanche of cash to tout Senate Republicans’ record across a variety of platforms and recruiting “quality candidates” to face off against Democrat challengers. The National Republican Senato-


rial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, outraised its Democrat counterpart by roughly $8 million dur- ing the first six months of the year. The Senate GOP leadership-aligned


Senate Leadership Fund and its affili- ates also smashed a fundraising record for the first half of 2025, bringing in roughly $85 million. Thune is also working with the pres-


ident to ensure electable candidates are positioned to win the Republican nomi- nation in key swing states.


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