John Thune Won’t Run for President

As new candidates dip their toes in the water for the 2012 Republican nomination, one contender is getting out of the pool. John Thune, a senator from South Dakota, announced on his website Tuesday afternoon that he’s not entering the presidential race. He’d said earlier he was worried that he might be burdened by a Senate record that included a vote for TARP, and in his statement he said the Senate was the best place to solve the country’s problems. “[The] battle is happening now in Washington, not two years from now. So at this time, I feel that I am best positioned to fight for America’s future here in the trenches of the United States Senate.”