THOM TILLIS

The Senate majority leader castigated Republicans for their repeated inaction after mass shootings but said Democrats had no choice but to try again.

North Carolina's GOP establishment exacted its revenge on the freshman congressman, who was backed by Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump’s influence was enough to elevate his Senate candidate to victory in North Carolina on Tuesday.

CBS News projects Chuck Edwards will win the Republican primary in the 11th Congressional District.

Controversial Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is hoping to to win his party's nomination for a second term.

Crypto executives and lobbyists are moving to gain a foothold in Washington as lawmakers scramble to find a way to regulate the industry.

First-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has lost to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards in the Republican congressional primary.

There are closely-watched primaries in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Oregon.

Former President Donald Trump’s winning streak in U.S. Senate primaries is on the line Tuesday as voters in five states cast their ballots in midterm elections.

A series of unforced political and personal errors by GOP congressman Madison Cawthorn has brought the forces of big-name Republicans and traditional enemies to bear on his reelection bid in North Carolina.

Republican candidates and strategists are increasingly confident that such a decision would not seriously harm the GOP’s chances of regaining House and Senate majorities come November, as Democrats have suggested it might.

Cawthorn showed up at an event last month with a $200,000 check of federal funding from the law. He conceded he didn't vote for it.

The allegations stem from Cawthorn's involvement with Let's Go Brandon coin, a cryptocurrency based on the conservative meme mocking President Joe Biden.

Officials say a loaded gun was found in North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s carry-on bag at an airport security checkpoint.

Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who has been under fire for recent comments about Ukraine and life in D.C., joins former President Donald Trump at a North Carolina rally on Saturday.

The final Senate confirmation vote of 53–47 sparked joy and relief that the ugly part was over, at least for Jackson. The rest of the country may not be so lucky.

Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill that President Joe Biden signed recently.

(Saul Loeb, Pool via AP) (Saul Loeb)RALEIGH, N.C. — (AP) — North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis endorsed a state legislator Thursday over U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn in their upcoming Republican primary, saying the first-term congressman has “fallen well short” of expectations. “The 11th Congressional District deserves a congressman who is fully dedicated to serving their constituents,” Tillis said in a news release. Cawthorn spoke at a rally in Washington on Jan 6, 2021, that questioned the outcome of the White House election won by Democrat Joe Biden. "I'm just kind of without the words to describe what Congressman Cawthorn is doing and saying. That district ultimately was thrown out by judges, and Cawthorn returned to a run in the reconfigured 11th District, which leans Republican.

(Saul Loeb, Pool via AP) (Saul Loeb)RALEIGH, N.C. — (AP) — North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis endorsed a state legislator Thursday over U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn in their upcoming Republican primary, saying the first-term congressman has “fallen well short” of expectations. “The 11th Congressional District deserves a congressman who is fully dedicated to serving their constituents,” Tillis said in a news release. Cawthorn spoke at a rally in Washington on Jan 6, 2021, that questioned the outcome of the White House election won by Democrat Joe Biden. "I'm just kind of without the words to describe what Congressman Cawthorn is doing and saying. That district ultimately was thrown out, and Cawthorn returned to a run in the reconfigured 11th District, which leans Republican.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis has endorsed a state legislator over U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the upcoming Republican primary.

Empathy is not a quality many Republican senators want to see in the next Supreme Court justice.

After more than 30 hours of hearings, the Senate is on track to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

What about a federal gas tax holiday? As of Thursday, there are no Republican co-sponsors of the federal gas tax holiday bill currently before Congress. Today, governors @GovMLG, @GovEvers, @GovofCO, @GovernorTomWolf, @GovTimWalz and I are announcing our support for a federal gas tax holiday. In Georgia, the state gas tax has been waived through May 31. Maryland acted first, pausing its gas tax for 30 days through April 16, Gov.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are shooting down the idea of boycotting the panel's vote on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. "There's not going to be any boycott. There's zero, not one iota chance that we would boycott," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the committee.The idea of a committee boycott, which has floated around Capitol Hill for weeks, was spun up after 10 Republicans sent Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill...

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is again facing questions from the 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is again facing questions from the 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tillis was respectful while questioning Jackson Wednesday morning, but it’s easy to look level-headed compared to Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. | Opinion

It’s not just Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who is being watched as she makes history as the first Black woman to be considered for the job.

He also acknowledged that Jackson probably would be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Several GOP senators grilled Jackson on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommend. President Joe Biden chose Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in American history. “Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court concerning the right to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. Near the end of the day, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked Jackson when life begins.

Senators will resume questioning Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the third day of her confirmation hearing. Jackson defended her judicial philosophy and record on crime in yesterday’s proceedings. CBS News legal contributor Rebecca Roiphe joins “CBS News Mornings” with analysis.

Jackson, President Joe Biden's first Supreme Court nominee, already spent more than 13 hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee defending her judicial career.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson may not get any Republican votes.

The legislation addresses key gripes app developers including Spotify, Epic Games, Basecamp and others have raised about Apple and Google.

Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals on the platforms.

Democrats are picking up the pieces after the collapse of their sweeping voting rights legislation.

Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation.

A federal lawsuit accuses the National Rifle Association of violating campaign finance laws by using shell companies to illegally funnel up to $35 million to Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and others.

The federal lawsuit accuses the NRA of using a network of shell companies to skirt campaign finance laws and give as much as $35 million to President Donald Trump and GOP candidates.

A prominent backer of Republican causes and candidates is notably absent from the conservative political groups backing efforts to ban in schools what they call critical race theory.

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban are arriving in the U.S., and a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them.

As the U.S. rushes to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan, a growing number of Republicans are questioning why the U.S. should take in Afghan citizens who worked side by side with Americans.

The stories have poured in by the thousands with heartbreaking pleas not to be left behind. In the race against time, the lawmakers are stepping up where the other branches of the U.S. government have maxed out. But from coast to coast, and across the heartland, lawmakers around the country are also seeing huge spikes in requests for help. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said many lawmakers are forwarding cases his way. He said his office has received more than 6,000 evacuation cases in just more than a week.

Across the county, the offices of members of Congress have become makeshift crisis centers.

The stories have poured in by the thousands with heartbreaking pleas not to be left behind. In the race against time, the lawmakers are stepping up where the other branches of the U.S. government have maxed out. But from coast to coast, and across the heartland, lawmakers around the country are also seeing huge spikes in requests for help. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas and the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that many lawmakers are forwarding cases his way. He said his office has received more than 6,000 evacuation cases in just more than a week.

Across the county, the offices of members of Congress have become makeshift crisis centers.

Tropical Weather Atlantic NCDOT workers assess damage to a bridge spanning the Pigeon River, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, in Bethel, N.C., after remnants from Tropical Storm Fred caused flooding in parts of Western North Carolina Tuesday. Search and rescue teams continue to search the area as 20 people are missing and 2 people were found dead. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP) (Travis Long)RALEIGH, N.C. — (AP) — Authorities combing areas of North Carolina flooded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred said Thursday that two people have been found dead and about 20 were unaccounted for. In western North Carolina, Haywood County Emergency Services announced Thursday that two people were confirmed dead after the flooding that prompted dozens of water rescues. Officials from the Cayuga County sheriff’s office in the Finger Lakes tourist region said they were barricading roads as they warned on social media that flooded roads may be washed out or have heavy currents.

Authorities in North Carolina have found two people dead and about 20 remain missing in Haywood County in floods caused by Tropical Storm Fred.

Lead negotiating Sens. Rob Portman and Kyrsten Sinema said they are still working on finalized bill text.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is urging his fellow Republicans to buck up Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — a Democrat, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.Why it matters: Republicans view Sinema and her moderate Democratic colleague Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia as their last line of defense against sweeping progressive laws — ranging from a $3.5 trillion social welfare bill to potentially irreversible structural changes like eliminating the filibuster and add

“This is a 1.2 million-gallon gasoline leak near his house,” protester says of NC senator.

A phone call helped derail Cal Cunningham’s campaign

Congressional Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure package that goes far beyond roads and bridges.

A bipartisan senators’ group working on a $1 trillion infrastructure compromise has now doubled in size, expanding to 21 members.

The proposed ban comes as North Carolina is fighting over new social studies standards and the decision by UNC not to offer tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of The 1619 Project.

Was the 2020 election fair and legitimate? Here’s what each NC representative and senator said — and didn’t say

Was the 2020 election fair and legitimate? Here’s what each NC representative and senator said — and didn’t say

Senate Republicans are poised to block the creation of a special commission to study the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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The mother of late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died a day after the Capitol riot Jan. 6, urged lawmakers to create a commission.

Senators are laboring to find a path forward for legislation creating a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Republicans are poised to block legislation that would create a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Jan. 6 insurrection was an attack on democracy. The US must fully assess what happened at the Capitol and why. (Letters to the Editor)

Where does our civic duty end when it comes to those who’ve decided not to get vaccinated against COVID? (Letters to the Editor)

Sen. Thom Tillis has prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week to treat it, he announced Monday. "I am in the hands of outstanding medical professionals and expect to make a full recovery," the North Carolina Republican said in a statement. Tillis traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border last week with a group of Republican senators. It is unclear whether Tillis will miss any votes in the Senate, where each major party holds 50 seats. Before winning election to the Senate in 2014, Tillis served as speaker in the North Carolina state House.

I’m proud of it.”Cuomo is a three-term governor of America’s fourth-largest state, and the son of a three-term governor. Surely, I thought, this was the whiniest, most risibly stupid thing a politician has said since Donald Trump retreated to Mar-a-Lago. That morning, Sen. Marco Rubio published an op-ed in USA Today aligning with unionizing Amazon workers in Alabama. Dark money groups do not. In a week full of bad arguments from awful men, Kavanagh’s was the worst — though he’s not exactly on the fringe.

The former president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is eyeing the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by Republican Richard Burr. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)RALEIGH, N.C. – A Trump may be on the ballot next year — but not Donald Trump. The former president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is eyeing the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by Republican Richard Burr. The answer to that question has implications that extend far beyond Lara Trump's political future. The 38-year-old Lara Trump is married to the former president's son, Eric.

But the North Carolina Republican’s vote to convict former President Donald Trump should not have come as a shock. AdWith Burr retiring at the end of his term in 2022, it’s a vote that could end up defining his career. Exactly a year later, as the Russia investigation was wrapping up, Burr’s time leading the committee came to an abrupt end. He sided with most Republicans in a vote to dismiss the trial, creating an expectation he’d also vote to acquit. AdSo when Burr stood up to vote for Trump's conviction, many in the chamber wondered if there would be other surprises.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON – Donald Trump's acquittal at his second impeachment trial may not be the final word on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after that vote. Federal prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles of the assault on the Capitol and whether the violence had been incited. A phone call between Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy emerged during the impeachment trial in which McCarthy, as rioters stormed the Capitol, begged Trump to call off the mob. AdIt's possible federal prosecutors will decide not to bring charges, and if Trump were indicted in one of the many other separate investigations, federal prosecutors could decide justice would be done elsewhere.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON – Donald Trump's acquittal at his second impeachment trial may not be the final word on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after that vote. Federal prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles of the assault on the Capitol and whether the violence had been incited. A phone call between Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy emerged during the impeachment trial in which McCarthy, as rioters stormed the Capitol, begged Trump to call off the mob. AdIt's possible federal prosecutors will decide not to bring charges, and if Trump were indicted in one of the many other separate investigations, federal prosecutors could decide justice would be done elsewhere.

From left, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the Democratic senators for a private virtual meeting, both declaring the Republicans' $618 billion offer was too small. “President Biden spoke about the need for Congress to respond boldly and quickly,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the lunch meeting. The president made it clear that he won’t delay aid in hopes of winning GOP support. Biden proposes $170 billion for schools, compared to $20 billion in the Republican plan.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden told Republican senators during a two-hour meeting Monday night he's unwilling to settle on an insufficient coronavirus aid package after they pitched their slimmed down $618 billion proposal that's a fraction of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking. AdRepublicans are tapping into bipartisan urgency to improve the nation's vaccine distribution and vastly expand virus testing with $160 billion in aid. Psaki said earlier Monday there is “obviously a big gap” between the $1.9 trillion package Biden has proposed and the $618 billion counteroffer. It also includes $20 billion to reopen schools compared to $170 billion in Biden's plan. The Republicans offer $40 billion for Paycheck Protection Program business aid.

President Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. We saw many recognizable faces Wednesday at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, but there were many people -- some quite notable -- who were not in attendance. President Donald Trump: He announced on Twitter ahead of the inauguration that he would not be attending, and he stuck to his word. He’s the first outgoing president who chose not to attend the ceremony since President Andrew Johnson’s refusal in 1869. Sen. Marco Rubio: Rubio conveyed he would be hard at work instead.

WASHINGTON – Control of the Senate won’t be decided until the new year after Republicans won a seat in Alaska on Wednesday. Incumbent Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan defeated Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. They have a 49-48 hold on the Senate with the Alaska win, but two races in Georgia are heading to a Jan. 5 runoff. With Biden, the path to keeping Senate control is more difficult for Republicans. That means if Republicans only have 50 seats, Democrats control the Senate.

Democrat Cal Cunningham conceded Tuesday to Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina's U.S. Senate race, one of the last undecided contests in the fight for control of the chamber. Tillis leads Cunningham by fewer than 2 percentage points with some votes outstanding. In a tweeted statement, Tillis said Cunningham called him to concede Tuesday afternoon, a week after Election Day. In his own statement, Cunningham said "the voters have spoken and I respect their decision." Cunningham, a former state senator, ran as an independent-minded candidate in the swing state.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Democrat Cal Cunningham conceded to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina on Tuesday, saying “the voters have spoken” and it was clear Tillis had won. With votes still uncounted and the races in North Carolina and Alaska still too early to call Tuesday, the Senate remained tied 48-48. Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is favored for another term against Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. In North Carolina, Tillis led Cunningham by 94,500 votes, from among more than 5.4 million votes counted so far. North Carolina counties had yet to process about 27,500 absentee ballots and about 23,000 provisional ballots.

The delay has the potential to upend civic norms, impede Biden’s transition to the White House and sow doubt in the nation’s civic and election systems. Trump would need to produce ample evidence of impropriety to undo Biden’s lead, which appears unlikely. During a closed-door lunch, Vice President Mike Pence told Senate Republicans about the legal strategy. Trump and his GOP allies haven’t offered evidence of election fraud, and their legal challenges have largely been rejected by the courts. McConnell noted the potential turmoil during the transition in praising ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper, whom Trump fired on Monday.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., won another term as Republican leader, his office said, cementing his role as the longest-serving GOP leader in U.S. history. But it’s still to be determined whether McConnell will retain his role as majority leader or cede it to Schumer as the final races for the U.S. Senate play out. Republicans brushed back Democratic challengers in several states, but failed to lock down the seats needed to retain their majority. The math has become more challenging for McConnell because the vice president of the party holding the White House casts the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. A Democratic majority in the Senate, the party that also controls the House would give the party a firm grasp on power in Washington.

WASHINGTON – Control of the Senate likely won’t be decided until a January runoff in Georgia, even after Democrat Joe Biden won the White House on Saturday. That post-election cliff-hanger will determine the balance of power in Washington, as neither party appears to have a lock on a Senate majority right now. If Democrats fall short, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, could wield the power to check Biden's ambitions. And Republican Sen. David Perdue, a top Trump ally, will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. “It’s all on the line in Georgia,” said Steven Law, the president of Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group aligned with McConnell that spent big trying keep Senate control.

WASHINGTON – Control of the Senate likely won’t be decided until a January runoff in Georgia, even after Democrat Joe Biden won the White House on Saturday. That post-election cliff-hanger will determine the balance of power in Washington, as neither party appears to have a lock on a Senate majority right now. If Democrats fall short, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, could wield the power to check Biden's ambitions. And Republican Sen. David Perdue, a top Trump ally, will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. “It’s all on the line in Georgia,” said Steven Law, the president of Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group aligned with McConnell that spent big trying keep Senate control.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters during a press conference in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. “We’re waiting — whether I’m going to be the majority leader or not,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday. There already is a Jan. 5 runoff in the state's other Senate race. Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency. John Hickenlooper defeated GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat Republican incumbent Martha McSally.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

With the race unsettled in several key battlegrounds, Trump's strong Election Day surge may not be enough to overcome a Democratic operation that also turned out its vote. But the tight presidential races and unexpected Democratic losses in congressional races demonstrated the resilient power of Trump’s appeal with rural, white voters and a growing polarization that may outlast his leadership. “But in this election we found it’s not ticking fast enough for the Democrats.”Even as the winner of the White House was unclear, Republicans had victories to celebrate Wednesday and white, rural voters to thank. Trump held one of his final, largest campaign rallies in Butler, drawing an estimated 54,000 people two days before Election Day. State Republicans spent months signing up new GOP registrants in the county — the GOP netted 11,000 voters over Democrats since Trump's 2016 election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

Ahead of the election, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including unsubstantiated charges of fraud and premature declarations of victory by candidates. For the most part, what they said they would, which primarily meant labeling false or misleading election posts in order to point users to reliable information. But Google placed an “information panel” beneath the videos noting that election results may not be final and linking to Google’s election results page with additional information. It labeled Trump’s tweets declaring premature victory as well as claims from Trump and others about premature victory in specific states. That means flagged tweets would publish with a label, making it more difficult to spread unlabeled misinformation, especially during important events like the election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump’s campaign helped his GOP allies, but that state election officials were still counting ballots. Key Senate races in North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia remained undecided. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has struggled against Democrat Cal Cunningham, despite the married challenger’s sexting scandal with a public relations strategist. GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will face Democrat Raphael Warnock, a Black pastor at the church where the Rev.

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)WASHINGTON – Hopes fading for Senate control, Democrats had a disappointing election night as Republicans swatted down an onslaught of challengers and fought to retain their fragile majority. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. The Democrats' gains were in Colorado and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat GOP incumbent Martha McSally. Republican Cynthia Lummis, the former congresswoman from Wyoming, won the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Enzi.

Republican senators are fighting to save their majority against an onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats that are now hotbeds of the backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are fighting to save their majority, a final election push against the onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats but now hotbeds of a potential backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. With it, a reelected Trump could confirm his nominees and ensure a backstop against legislation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. With the chamber now split, 53-47, three or four seats will determine Senate control, depending on which party wins the White House. Swooping in to fill the gap for Republicans is the Senate Leadership Fund, tapping deep-pocketed donors.

Barrett was confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice by the Senate earlier in the evening. It's been only a month since President Donald Trump's Rose Garden event to announce he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis — tested positive after attending the earlier White House celebration. Indiana Sen. Todd Young told reporters that he had told the White House he would attend, but was reconsidering. She said people need to be careful about gatherings as illnesses have been rising, but stopped short of calling the White House event a mistake.

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2020, file photo, Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham talks during during a televised debate with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in Raleigh, N.C. Cunningham inched back into the public sphere on Wednesday, Oct. 7, a day after The Associated Press reported the he had an intimate encounter this summer with a public relations consultant. Within hours of the military disclosing that it is investigating Cunningham, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, he rejected the idea that the race with Tillis had turned into a referendum on his character, even while expressing remorse for extramarital activity. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham is bypassing uncomfortable questions about his extramarital activities in the final days of his closely contested race with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis' campaign also says he's given more than two dozen interviews since Cunningham's lone news conference. Groups from the Human Rights Campaign to the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters to unions are coming to Cunningham's side. Cunningham’s campaign didn’t make him available for an AP interview. “It's troubling for sure, but I don’t think that those actions will change what he can do for North Carolina,” Hall said.

Cunningham's campaign said it raised a staggering $28.3 million in the third quarter, while Tillis' campaign has not released the amount of its fundraising haul yet. The senator told Fox News this week that Cunningham "owes the people of North Carolina a full explanation." At the same time, Biden leads Trump by an average of about 1 percentage point in North Carolina, according to RealClearPolitics. What North Carolina voters care aboutHealth care and other topics at the top of North Carolina voters' minds mirror the concerns of the country as a whole. When Cunningham's campaign tweeted Tuesday for the first time since Friday, it highlighted jobless claims in North Carolina.

Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Toni Sandys | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesRon Johnson of Wisconsin is the third Republican senator to test positive for Covid-19 after President Donald Trump announced early Friday that he and the first lady had a positive diagnosis. Both are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is the panel that will hold hearings on her nomination. It is unclear where Johnson contracted the virus, but he was exposed earlier this week to someone who has since tested positive for the virus, according to his office. "If It's too dangerous to have the Senate in session it is also too dangerous for committee hearings to continue."

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” he tweeted. Soon after Scalia’s death was announced Feb. 13, 2016, McConnell said President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee would not advance. Here’s what McConnell and other key Republicans said in 2016 about election-year Supreme Court picks and what they’ve said since Ginsburg’s death. March 10, 2016: “I want you to use my words against me,” Graham said during a Judiciary Committee meeting. Sen. Charles E. Grassley,former Judiciary Committee chairmanGrassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2016, has commented on Ginsburg’s death but not on how Republicans should proceed with filling the seat.

Senator Thom Tillis is used to being in a tight spot in campaigns in the swing state of North Carolina, having come from behind in the polls six years ago to clinch his post. Other states, including Montana, Iowa and Kansas, also may be coming into play, leaving even the reticent Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to call the battle for control of the Senate a dogfight.Republicans will fight hard to protect their majority. Republican President Donald Trump is struggling in some of the states he won in 2016, including North Carolina and Arizona, Gonzales said. Both Trump and Tillis appear to have lost support in North Carolina opinion polls during the coronavirus pandemic, said David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College in Raleigh. Cunningham says Tillis responses to the pandemic show he wont challenge Trump, while Tillis calls Cunningham a rubber stamp for the Democratic leadership.

Lawmakers are wrestling over whether to go big as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants for the next relief bill or hit pause as McConnell insists. As questions mount over Washington's proper role, it's testing President Donald Trump and Congress. Republican priorities are to wean Americans off unemployment benefits to nudge people back to work and provide liability protections for businesses that reopen. We need to work smart here.The political and economic debate stretches beyond the halls of Congress as wary Americans await Washington's next move. The poll found that about 9 in 10 Americans favored the federal government providing funding to small businesses and hospitals.

Biden's campaign and the DNC planned to file papers for the deal on Saturday with the Federal Elections Commission. The arrangement comes as Biden expands his influence with the national party and works with the DNC and state parties. In addition to trying to unseat Trump, Democrats are looking to retain their House majority and wrest control of the Senate from Republicans. We believe that there will be battleground states that have never been battleground states before, Bidens campaign manager, Jen OMalley Dillon, said Friday. Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia stand out as heavily GOP states that wont be close in the presidential election.

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reacts after results are announced for his candidacy in the Republican Party U.S. Senate primary in Mobile, Alabama, U.S. March 3, 2020. Below are some highlights from Tuesdays races:ALABAMASessions, who in 2016 was the first Senate Republican to endorse Trump before joining his administration, is seeking his partys nomination to challenge incumbent Doug Jones, the Senates most imperiled Democrat. The two are expected to face each other in a runoff on March 31. With 71% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Democrat Christy Smith and Republican Mike Garcia appeared headed to the top two slots. In addition to Smith, who had 33% of the vote late Tuesday, Democrats seeking the seat included Cenk Uygur, founder of the liberal online news outlet The Young Turks.

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reacts after results are announced for his candidacy in the Republican Party U.S. Senate primary in Mobile, Alabama, U.S. March 3, 2020. Below are some highlights from Tuesdays races:ALABAMASessions, who in 2016 was the first Senate Republican to endorse Trump before joining his administration, is seeking his partys nomination to challenge incumbent Doug Jones, the Senates most imperiled Democrat. The two are expected to face each other in a runoff on March 31. With 71% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Democrat Christy Smith and Republican Mike Garcia appeared headed to the top two slots. In addition to Smith, who had 33% of the vote late Tuesday, Democrats seeking the seat included Cenk Uygur, founder of the liberal online news outlet The Young Turks.

Below are some highlights from Tuesdays other races:ALABAMASessions, who in 2016 was the first Senate Republican to endorse Trump before joining the administration, is seeking his partys nomination to challenge incumbent Doug Jones, the Senates most imperiled Democrat. Senator Thom Tillis will face Democratic businessman and former state senator Cal Cunningham in the race for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. The race became more controversial in recent weeks after reports emerged that Republicans had purchased television advertisements boosting another Democratic candidate, state lawmaker Erica Smith. Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar, who represents a district along the Mexican border, has drawn a challenge by Jessica Cisneros, a liberal immigration attorney from San Antonio, who has criticized him as too moderate. Mike Garcia, a businessman and former Navy pilot, entered the race before Hill resigned, hoping to oust her in November.

A woman casts her ballot during early voting for the California Democratic Primary in Los Angeles, California on March 2, 2020. Republican control of the Senate is also up in the air, with the GOP defending 23 Senate seats, while Democrats are defending only 12. An NBC/Marist poll released Sunday showed Cunningham winning support from 51% of likely Democratic primary voters, while Smith got 18%. The race is also noteworthy because a group with ties to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky paid $1 million for ads promoting Erica Smith. If Tuberville comes out victorious, it could also pose fresh challenges for the Republican Senate majority.