John Thune is striving to be the next Republican Senate leader, but can he rise in Trump’s GOP?

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — The gold-leafed ceilings and crystal chandeliers of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort are a long way from the small town of Murdo, South Dakota, where Sen. John Thune grew up. But that’s where the senator found himself this spring as he launched a bid to become the next Senate Republican leader.

Even before Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he would end the longest leadership tenure in Senate history, Thune, 63, had approached the contest with the same quiet intensity — fueled by an aversion to losing — he learned on the basketball court and track of Murdo’s high school.

The outcome of the secret leadership ballot, expected after the November election, is deeply uncertain. It’s a weighty choice for Senate Republicans as they leave the McConnell era, creating a test of whether someone like Thune, who defines himself by the party’s traditional values and has at times defied Trump’s wishes, can still rise to power.

Senators John Cornyn of Texas, a former whip and strong fundraiser, and Rick Scott of Florida, a Trump ally, are also running for leader. Others could still jump in the race.

Thune acknowledges moments of doubt about his place in the party. He agonized over whether to run again in 2022, even as a clear path to Senate leadership awaited him.

“You tire of just the day-to-day combat,” Thune said of his deliberations. “I may not be best-suited to the times in terms of the style, the way I do things. But I just felt like the country was going to need some common-sense leadership, particularly if Sen. McConnell stepped aside.”

So it was that Thune made the journey to Mar-a-Lago. It’s his hope the visit — along with his endorsement of Trump for president — will help convince Trump they can work