Productivity

From the brand new Washington insider's magazine, Capitol File:

CAPITOL FILE, Holiday Issue, 2005

POWER SENATOR

Giant Killer: Senator Thune's having a productive year.

Although Senator John Thune had already served three terms in the US House of Representatives, the Republican's nail-biting victory in the 2004 South Dakota Senate race trumpeted his accession to prime-time Washington politics. By defeating then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Thune became the first political candidate to polish off a sitting Senate party leader in more than half a century--a feat that quickly earned him the nickname Giant Killer.

In less than a year in office, Thune has emerged as a popular figure in conservative Republican circles, a darling of television talk-show producers, and a skilled political playmaker. "It has been a very eventful year, but also a very productive one," Thune says. He counts among his victories a $268 billion federal highway bill and a $12 billion federal energy bill, both of which were boons to South Dakota farmers. But his ability to keep South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base from being closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission was perhaps even more significant for his career.

Still, political triumphs aren't the only accomplishments Thune has racked up since taking office. The July 27 issue of The Hill newspaper named the handsome 44-year-old one of Washington's 10 most beautiful people. "I took a lot of grief for that," Thune says. When he's not on Capitol Hill, Thune lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with his wife, Kimberley, and daughters, Brittany and Larissa. -L.M.