John Thune

Upon taking the reins of the influential Republican Policy Committee in June, Thune has stepped up the party’s partisan engagement, offering, for instance, a contentious firearms amendment that put many moderate and western Democrats on the spot.

"For right now, we've got to put it all on the message," Thune said, his long frame folded into a wingback chair in his Senate office. "If we can't make the case that the Republican Party has better answers on economic and fiscal issues, then it really doesn't matter that much who's in charge." For Thune, son of a teacher and a librarian from Murdo, S.D., the answer for the GOP isn't about finding its own Obama, but rebuilding a brand that was a victim of its own success.