Democrats: Thune won't go unchallenged

U.S. Sen. John Thune won’t go unchallenged in his bid for re-election this time.

The South Dakota Democratic Party is expected to announce a candidate for U.S. Senate this week, putting to bed concerns that Thune would again go untested in his pursuit for another term in Washington, D.C.

“We're excited to field a competitive candidate who is going to push Thune on the issues,” said Michael Ewald, spokesman for the state Democrats.

While the name won’t be unveiled until Friday when the announcement is made at the Democratic Forum, Ewald said the candidate is a man with experience in both the private and public sectors “with a compelling vision and offers a stronger voice in South Dakota.”

When Thune was last up for election in 2010, the Democrats failed to field a challenger, enabling the Senate Republican to stockpile about $11 million leading up to the 2016 campaign. The decision not to challenge Thune in 2010 has been widely regarded as a political blunder by Democrats.

Despite the pending candidate announcement, it's business as usual for Thune and his campaign, said Joshua Shields, Thune’s campaign manager.

“Sen. Thune always expected to have a challenger this election cycle and that’s what we’ve been preparing for,” he said. “The campaign has been focused on raising money and preparing for a race. Nothing really changes from that perspective.”

The Democratic challenger will be formally introduced during Democratic Forum at noon Friday at the VFW in Sioux Falls.