John Thune has announced on his Facebook page that he is passing on a run for the presidency.

Thune had been strongly considering a bid, and when I spoke with him this past summer, he seemed more inclined to run than to pass. Several people close to Thune told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that they would be surprised if he chose not to run. But he recognized the difficulty of running from Washington in the current political environment and the challenge of raising money nationally as a senator from South Dakota.

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