AdMcGaw’s transformation is driving Democrats' hopes as they charge into what the party considers its new frontier: small-city America. As Democrats continue to lose votes in small towns, they've seen clear gains in regional hubs that dot stretches of rural America. Biden carried roughly 60 counties President Donald Trump won in 2016, many were places anchored by a midsize or small city that is trending Democratic. While there remains robust support for Trump, voters stress that action carries more weight than ideological purity. Lageson’s 73-year-old husband, Larry, a devoted Trump supporter, called Biden a pawn of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Democrats once dominated Koochiching County in the blue-collar Iron Range of northern Minnesota. But in this month's presidential election, President Donald Trump won it with 60% of the vote. Though Democrats’ rural woes aren’t new, they now heap pressure on Biden to begin reversing the trend. In clinging to their majority, House Democrats lost rural seats, notably the one held for 30 years by Rep. Collin Peterson in western Minnesota. For now, Democrats' future in rural America rests largely on how Biden is viewed there, Heitkamp said.

"It's the Trump factor," Nearmyer said about how Democrats lost House seats. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)MONROE, Iowa – This swath of southeast Iowa isn't supposed to be a nailbiter for Democrats. Instead, it appears Democrats made a serious miscalculation in assuming their antipathy toward Trump would fuel victories across the country. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which supports the party's House candidates, is beginning a “deep dive” examination into what happened. Voters for months watched Republican ads featuring unrest with narrators ominously attacking Democrats as anti-police, often with little response.

By retaining the House, Democrats will control the chamber for four consecutive years for only the second time since 1995, when Republicans ended 40 years of Democratic dominance. As the bad news sunk in, Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who led House Democrats' campaign committee, announced Monday she wouldn't seek another term leading that organization. Republicans have been heartened by the House results, which many believe position them for a strong run for the majority in the 2022 elections. Illustrating that, the Blue Dog Coalition of the most conservative House Democrats, whose membership has dwindled in recent years, lost at least six of its roughly two dozen members. On the Republican side, the conservative House Freedom Caucus was hoping to grow from its roughly 30 members.

MINNEAPOLIS – The reelection defeat of U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson in Minnesota and some key retirements mean a shakeup is coming for the industry on Capitol Hill, with power likely to shift from the Midwest to the South and the coasts. Both the House and Senate agriculture committees will get new chairs, and there will be a new top Republican on the House panel. Fischbach plans to seek a seat on the Agriculture Committee, but she'll have to draw heavily on her legislative skills to have much of an influence as a freshman in the minority party. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is the only one of the top four agriculture committee leaders returning in 2021. Neither Roberts nor Rep. Michael Conaway of Texas, the ranking Republican in the House committee, sought reelection.

“They were all wrong," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters about Democrats' assumptions of adding to their House numbers. She declared that Democrats had won the House majority, which seemed highly likely but hadn’t been officially determined by The Associated Press. Democrats lost a majority Hispanic district in West Texas they expected to win after the GOP incumbent retired. In a district between Austin and San Antonio, freshman GOP Rep. Chip Roy withstood a challenge from Democrat Wendy Davis. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and the three other members of the so-called squad of young progressive women of color were easily reelected.

Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice earned a reputation as a political moderate in her two terms in the Oklahoma Senate. ___11:20 p.m. TuesdayRepublican Maria Elvira Salazar has defeated Democrat Donna Shalala for a House seat in Florida. ___10:25 p.m. TuesdayRepublican Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has won a House seat in Florida, defeating freshman Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Republican Ronny Jackson has won a House seat in West Texas, where he moved after leaving the White House in 2018. The solidly Republican district is currently held by Mac Thornberry, one of six GOP congressmen in Texas retiring this year.

U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, an Oklahoma City lawyer, faced Republican state Sen. Bice for the Oklahoma City-area House seat. President Donald Trump supported Mace on Twitter and she once worked on the president’s campaign. Fischbach contended that Peterson was too close to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other liberals. Republican Ronny Jackson has won a House seat in West Texas, where he moved after leaving the White House in 2018. They are banking on anxiety over the pandemic, suburban indignation with President Donald Trump and a fundraising advantage.

Though they seemed likely to retain House control, their performance was an unexpected disappointment for the party, which hoped for modest gains of perhaps 15 seats. Democrats control the House 232-197, with five open seats and one independent. By retaining House control, Democrats would mark only the second time in a quarter century that they've led the chamber for two consecutive two-year Congresses. She declared that Democrats had won the House majority, which seemed highly likely but hadn’t been officially declared by The Associated Press. “House Republicans have outperformed all expectations," said Dan Conston, who heads the Congressional Leadership Fund, a committee aligned with House GOP leaders that provides millions to Republican candidates.

The measure needs to be passed by the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to prevent a shutdown of nonessential government functions. As previously announced, the bill does not contain COVID-19 relief, leaving that issue in all likelihood for a post-election lame duck session — or for the next administration. The House is slated to pass the stopgap funding bill — called a continuing resolution, or CR in Washington-speak — next week. Earlier this week, Pelosi said the House would stay in session until a COVID-19 deal was reached. Instead, lawmakers appear likely to leave Washington next week and be on 24 hours' notice to return if there is a coronavirus relief deal to vote on.

But there’s a smaller category of lawmakers like Peterson and GOP Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio who also merit attention: long-term incumbents of both parties fighting to preserve their careers. Over 90% of House incumbents are usually reelected, thanks to name recognition and campaign fundraising advantages. “There are people who traditionally voted Republican who don't identify with the current Republican Party," Schroder, 43, a businesswoman and local public health official, said in an interview. Democratic and Republican campaign committees and other organizations allied with party leadership are aiming the bulk of their spending at each others' softest seats and defending vulnerable incumbents. The Congressional Leadership Fund, aligned with House GOP leadership, planned to spend $3.3 million more, which Republicans said could grow.

Minneapolis voters line up to vote a day ahead of Minnesota's Tuesday primary election on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, at the Minneapolis Election and Voters Services offices. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS Rep. Ilhan Omar is about to learn whether voters in her Minneapolis-area congressional district support the mix of confrontational, anti-Trump progressivism and celebrity that she brings to the job. Antone Melton-Meaux, a Black lawyer and mediator, raised millions of anti-Omar dollars to fill mailboxes and flood airwaves. Omar rejected Melton-Meauxs attacks, saying they were funded by interests that wanted to get her out of Congress because shes effective. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.