SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Republican Sen. John Thune on Wednesday sidestepped questions about whether he might run for president in 2012 by talking up the importance of GOP victories for congressional seats this November.
With no re-election opponent on the ballot, Thune said he'll spend time campaigning for GOP House and Senate candidates in South Dakota and elsewhere. His campaign office said trips are scheduled to Arkansas, Ohio, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
The first-term senator said some people have encouraged him to run for president in two years.
"I've said this before, but anyone who has aspirations beyond the 2010 midterm elections should put those on hold and focus exclusively right now on November, because I think that's going to be the critical election in terms of the agenda for the country and in my view, getting the country back on the right track," Thune said on a conference call with reporters.
Republicans need to gain seats in the House and Senate to restore a balance of power so Congress can tackle the growing national debt, he said.
Thune discussed legislation he's introduced that he said is aimed at capping discretionary spending, reforming the budgeting process, and creating a new congressional joint committee on debt reduction.
"It strikes me that of all the committees we have in Congress, we've got like 26 committees and subcommittees in Congress that spend money, but we don't have a single committee in the Congress that looks for ways to save money," he said.
Thune's latest campaign finance report showed his campaign with $6.9 million on hand at the end of June. He said the absence of an election opponent gives him the opportunity to campaign for others and that the 2012 presidential election "will take care of itself."
"That's a long ways off right now in terms of at least my thinking and any consideration," he said.