Thune denies meddling in shadow contest to replace Blackburn in Senate: ‘Not my call’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) denied trying to steer Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) away from appointing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) to her Senate seat as she prepares to become governor in January. “I haven’t had any conversations with her about that,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday, responding to Burchett’s repeated claims that he is being boxed out of the conversation in favor of…