Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., announces he will leave Washington in the new year. While NPR's Ken Rudin and Ron Elving wonder if this will enhance DeMint's already-estimable influence in Republican circles, it also opens up the possibility of the appointment of an African-American GOP senator — only the second one since Reconstruction. Plus: Does Ashley Judd have a shot against Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky?

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