Wagner’s surprise move, finalized over the weekend, is a blow to the Republican Party. She was the leadership’s prized Senate recruit in Missouri and viewed as the answer to McCaskill, endangered but scrappy.

McCaskill was in bad political shape five years ago but survived anyway because the GOP nominee, then-Rep. Todd Akin, was so poorly received, particularly among female voters. McCaskill might have caught another break.

In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner Monday, Wagner said the decision came after many conversations with her husband and children.