But officials in both parties agree that the surge of GOP departures will make the Republicans' challenge more difficult in the Senate. “Any time you lose an incumbent, it’s bad news,” said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who briefly worked for failed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin nearly a decade ago. Several Missouri Republicans are expected to seek the nomination to replace Blunt, but none will be more divisive than former Gov. Two leading Missouri Democrats, former Sen. Claire McCaskill and 2016 Senate candidate Jason Kander, both said they would not run for the open seat. The former president won by the same margin in Iowa, where 87-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is considering retirement.

The moves came a day after electors nationwide formally cast votes affirming Biden's victory in last month's presidential election. As Republicans began discussing a Biden presidency more openly on Tuesday, Trump still pledged to press forward with almost nonexistent legal options. There has never been anything like this in our Country!” Trump tweeted just as members of his party were publicly recognizing Biden's victory. The Electoral College has spoken.”The bureaucratic transition from Trump's government to Biden’s actually began weeks ago, despite the president’s legal challenges. Unless Democrats win both those races, Senate Republicans will have the power to block many of Biden's Cabinet nominations, not to mention thwart his policy initiatives.

The moves come a day after electors nationwide formally cast votes affirming Biden's victory in last month's presidential election. As Republicans began discussing a Biden presidency more openly on Tuesday, Trump still pledged to press forward with almost nonexistent legal options. There has never been anything like this in our Country!” Trump tweeted just as members of his party were publicly recognizing Biden's victory. The normally humdrum political ceremony didn’t change the facts of the election, but was nonetheless used as political cover by leading Republicans. Unless Democrats win both those races, Senate Republicans will have the power to block many of Biden's Cabinet nominations, not to mention thwart his policy initiatives.

"That’s a mandate to flip the switch.”The idea of a Biden mandate, though, is relative, certainly embraced by Democrats who want to push ahead with his agenda. California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House's Republican leader, said the election “was a mandate against socialism," stepping up the relentless GOP attacks, even though Biden is a centrist Democrat. Biden comes to the presidency like few in recent history, with a rare mix of experience but also a potentially divided Congress. Whether McConnell emerges in the new Congress as majority or minority leader with a narrowly divided Senate, the longest serving Republican leader in history will have great leverage over legislation that arrives on Biden's desk. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and even McCarthy will have oversize roles because of the changed makeup of the new Congress.

The lower-than-expected turnout at the comeback rally, in particular, left Trump fuming. The vast majority of the attendees, including Trump, did not wear face masks as recommended by the Trump administration's health experts. Before Oklahoma, the campaign had planned to finalize and announce its next rally this week. At least one swing state governor, meanwhile, says Trump would not be welcome to host a rally in her state amid the pandemic. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said she would think very seriously about" trying to block Trump from hosting a rally there if he wanted to.

The lower-than-expected turnout at the comeback rally, in particular, left Trump fuming. The vast majority of the attendees, including Trump, did not wear face masks as recommended by the Trump administration's health experts. Before Oklahoma, the campaign had planned to finalize and announce its next rally this week. At least one swing state governor, meanwhile, says Trump would not be welcome to host a rally in her state amid the pandemic. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said she would think very seriously about" trying to block Trump from hosting a rally there if he wanted to.