Pence can begin “to position himself as the titular head of the loyal opposition,” said Barry Bennett, a Republican strategist who worked for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“What happened in the House tells us that the president’s policies were quite popular. His personality, obviously, was not helpful with some voters,” Bennett said. “But if Pence can run on the policies and not have the baggage of the image problem, he’ll do quite well.”

Pence returns to the campaign trail Friday to headline two rallies in Georgia for Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both of whom are locked in competitive runoff races in January that will determine which party controls the Senate.