Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota announced Saturday that he would seek a fourth term in the Senate, following widespread rumors that he would retire from the upper chamber.

Thune is seen as a potential heir to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and his retirement would have set off a power struggle at the top of the GOP conference. Members from all sides of the conference had expressed support for Thune, with Maine Sen. Susan Collins saying in December that she would be “beside [her]self” if the whip retired. Thune was elected to the position in 2018 after Texas Sen. John Cornyn was term-limited out.

“Each time I’ve asked South Dakotans for the opportunity to represent them in Congress, I’ve done so because of a fundamental desire to do whatever I could to make their lives – and our way of life – safer, stronger, and more prosperous. I’ve always promised that I would do the work, even when it was uncomfortable or unpopular,” Thune said in a statement.

National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Rick Scott cheered Thune’s announcement, saying that “South Dakotans are lucky to have a conservative fighter like John Thune working for them in the Senate.”