Chairman Thune?

John Thune is being nominated to chair the NRSC, which is a key Senate leadership position:

Celeste Calvitto: Pollster says Thune should lead GOP committee

Will Sen. John Thune be the next chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee?

He ought to be, according to David Winston, a Republican pollster and contributing writer for Capitol Hill's Roll Call newspaper.

Winston said in a telephone interview that in addition to Thune's "giant killer" reputation after defeating former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last year, his role in the successful fight to save Ellsworth Air Force Base — which Thune downplays — has further increased his cachet among Senate colleagues.

"He took on Daschle and the Defense Department and won. It is a very big thing to defeat the leader of the other side. Then, you add BRAC," Winston said, referring to the vote by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to reject the Pentagon's plan to close Ellsworth. "A lot of other senators did not have that level of success with BRAC, and they have respect for that accomplishment. … The way the whole BRAC Commission effort evolved, starting on the short end, working the commission and ultimately winning, shows he has the ability to get things done."

Winston said that's why Thune would be a good candidate to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC, which recruits and supports candidates.

Thune spokesman Kyle Downey said Thune "has been approached" about the job.

"It is always flattering when your colleagues throw your name into the ring for a leadership position," Downey said. "But it will be quite some time before he will make a decision like that, and he would weigh how that position would affect South Dakota."

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., currently heads the NRSC. The vote for a chairman will be after the November 2006 elections and before the Senate reconvenes in January 2007.