Thune: 'I am not running for president'

U.S. Sen. John Thune, who considered running for president three years ago, said this week that he was not seeking the top job in 2016.

Thune made his comments Wednesday afternoon on the Hugh Hewitt radio show.

"I am not running for president," Thune said.

Later, Thune reaffirmed that he was "not gearing up" for a campaign – something he said would need to be done soon.

But despite his simple statement, the Republican senator left himself a little wiggle room to change his mind in the future, telling Hewitt he wasn't "ruling it out."

Thune, first elected to the Senate in 2004, openly explored a presidential run in 2011 before ultimately deciding to pass. He was then considered as a possible running mate for eventual nominee Mitt Romney.

Candidates are already laying groundwork for presidential bids in 2016, when President Barack Obama will be prevented by term limits from running again. On the Democratic side, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden are considering campaigns, along with several governors and senators. The Republican field could include Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Rep. Paul Ryan and many others.

Thune said he wasn't sure there was a spot for himself given all the other potential Republican candidates.

"There has to be something out there that you bring to that equation that other people don't, and we've got a lot of really good people, both in the Congress and governors, former governors, who are probably going to be in that mix," Thune said. "We'll see how it shakes out, but there's got to be an opening."

Ken Blanchard, a political science professor at Northern State University in Aberdeen, said Thune's analysis seems accurate.

"Thune is a very capable and very photogenic politician," Blanchard said. "The problem he always has is... that it's not clear that he has a wedge, or anything that makes him particularly special in the (Republican) field."

Few experts were considering Thune as even a dark horse candidate for 2016. Rankings by political watchers, such as the Washington Post or Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, don't include Thune in their lists of potential candidates.

That doesn't mean Thune can't rise even further as a national politician. He's currently ranked third in the Senate Republican leadership and is much younger than the two senators ahead of him. That means Thune could be in line to eventually become the Senate Republican leader, among the most powerful positions in Washington.

"There seems to be almost nobody in the Senate who doesn't like him," Blanchard said. "So it's got to be on his mind."

The man Thune beat to enter the Senate, Tom Daschle, was the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Thune was not available for comment Thursday evening.

Running for president in 2016 would have been a more complicated decision for Thune than 2012. That's because Thune is also up for reelection the the U.S. Senate in 2016.

Current South Dakota law would prevent Thune from running for both president and Senate at the same time, potentially forcing him to choose one race or the other.