DAILY RUNDOWN: Chuck Todd talks about President Barack Obama’s praise for a bipartisan proposal on immigration reform.

MORNING JOE: Sen. John McCain, D-Ariz., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., discuss a bipartisan plan taking shape in the Senate that would reform the country's current immigration laws.

TODAY: The president will be traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, to talk about the need for immigration reform just a day after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their plan for dealing with the roughly 11 million undocumented people in this country. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

NIGHTLY NEWS: NBC's Chuck Todd examines the immigration overhaul that could pass by late spring or early summer.

TODAY: Democrats and Republicans agreed Thursday evening to modest change in the Senate rules to limit filibusters and avoid the gridlock that often keeps things from getting done on Capitol Hill. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports. 

MITCHELL REPORTS: The House of Representatives has passed the extension of the US debt limit to May 19 with a vote of 285 to 144. The measure moves on to the Senate for final passage. MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. 

MORNING JOE: The House is expected to vote on suspending the debt ceiling through May. How does this move put pressure on the Democrats? What does the House Speaker want from Senate Democrats? The Morning Joe panel – including Mike Barnicle, Time's Mark Halperin, former RNC Chair Michael Steele, NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell and the Huffington Post's Sam Stein -- discusses.

The president used his inaugural address Monday to set the agenda for a second term, declaring he will fight for immigration reform and gay rights and tackle climate change and gun control, and defending entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

The Morning Joe panel establishes that the president's second inauguration speech was geared to his liberal base. But how do blue-collar Democrats in states like Pennsylvania feel about Obama discussing gun control, same-sex marriage and global warming? MSNBC's Chris Matthews and San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julian Castro join the conversation.

NBC's Chuck Todd and Meet the Press moderator David Gregory examine the goals outlined in Barack Obama's second inauguration speech. Obama defended Medicare and Social Security and wants to tackle gun violence and immigration while also advancing gay rights. But in March, Congress will debate how to fund the government – and if they can't come to an agreement about the budget impasse, Obama's other goals will be that much more difficult.

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden joins The Daily Rundown to discuss his state's proposal to ban assault-style weapons and whether the nation’s lawmakers can reach a broader agreement on the issue.

Hagel rollout went as well as planned, but still not an easy fight … Obama puts HIS team in place and is trying to make his mark on foreign policy … Poll shows better marks for Obama than Boehner in fiscal-cliff fight … the White House’s gun push takes shape and could be coming soon … Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly announce formation of group to counter the NRA … Bloomberg tries to assert mayoral influence, but how much does/should he have? … Christie ‘State of the State’ today to focus on Sandy … R.I.P. Richard Ben Cramer -- he had what it takes.

*** No margin for error in Hagel nomination: Yesterday’s official rollout of Chuck Hagel for defense secretary went about as well as it could have for the Obama White House. Statements of praise for Hagel by folks like Colin Powell and Robert Gates? Check. A statement of past praise from John McCain (who said in 2006 Hagel would make a “great secretary of state”), even though McCain is now taking a skeptical look at the nominee? Check. And getting Chuck Schumer, perhaps the Democratic senator with the most reservations about Hagel, to issue a non-committal statement? Check. So the White House feels pretty good about where things stand, although this won’t be an easy fight. Yet what Team Obama can’t afford is any new negative information, any other shoe to drop. Bottom line: There is no margin for error from this point onward. Hagel’s support, at best, in the Senate is an inch deep and that “inch” would get him the votes he needs. But it wouldn’t take much for the bottom to, well, fall out. This is going to be a precarious few weeks. Very few senators are in D.C. right now, so the interest groups will be front and center. Hagel needs his confirmation hearing sooner, rather than later, but right now, it’s unclear when those hearings will be scheduled. Hagel also needs FACE time with senators, and he won’t have that opportunity for a good week or so. 

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference with former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., in the East Room on Jan. 7, 2013.

*** Obama’s confidence -- 2009 vs. 2013: As we wrote yesterday, Obama is clearly projecting a level of confidence at the start of this second term than he did four years ago, in particular, on foreign policy. Just look at the initial comfort level with his picks for his second-term national security team (Hagel, John Kerry, John Brennan) vs. the first-term team (Hillary Clinton, Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, Jim Jones). At the start of his first term, the president was no less confident about his foreign policy judgment but he made the calculation that he needed to placate the Washington establishment so he stuck with the Republican Gates at Defense, brought in Hillary to State, brought in a former general, Jim Jones, as his National Security Adviser. Gates and Clinton worked out, but Jones didn’t. 

*** Amplifying his views, using political capital: Now? The president is using his national security choices to amplify his views in a way that was missing four years ago. Kerry, Hagel, Brennan and keeping Tom Donilon as NSA (even potentially elevating Deputy NSA Denis McDonough to White House chief of staff) indicates the president is not just interested in running foreign policy out of the White House, but he wants to leave an Obama imprint on Defense, CIA, State etc. But it may be more than that -- Obama is displaying a confidence that he didn’t necessarily show after 2008. Much of this is what you get with a second-term president who got more than 51% of the popular vote (for the second-straight time). He may NOT be saying it the same way Bush did in 2004-05 after winning a second term, but he’s, so far, displaying the following notion: Obama believes he’s earned political capital, and he’s going to use it. 

*** Polling the concluded fiscal-cliff debate: Our first initial look at some polling post-Fiscal Cliff offers few surprises. According to a new Washington Post/ABC poll, American voters approve more of President Obama’s handling of the just-concluded debate over the fiscal cliff. “In the new survey, conducted after the House followed up a Senate vote by passing the measure, 53 percent of voters say they approve of the way Obama handled the matter, while 40 percent disapprove. The overall tally is clearly negative for Boehner’s performance: 30 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval.” For Boehner, that includes 52% of Republican voters who disapproved how he handled the negotiations. Meanwhile, a new Pew poll finds that 57% of adults “say that Obama got more of what he wanted from the tax legislation, while just 20% say Republican leaders got more of what they wanted. And while 48% approve of the way Obama handled the fiscal cliff negotiations only 19% approve of the way GOP leaders handled the negotiations.”

*** The White House and guns: Mark Glaze, the executive director of the Michael Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns, chatted with First Read and NBC yesterday, saying that there were three proposals the White House could announce as part of its comprehensive package dealing with the aftermath of Newtown, CT. One, require background checks for ALL gun buys. (This actually has support from gun dealers and manufacturers, Glaze said, because it’s the private sale of guns that’s the big problem here.) Two, ban assault weapons and magazines. (If background checks are the easiest proposal to pass, then this might be the hardest.) Three, pass a federal anti-trafficking statute, making it a crime to be trafficking in guns. Glaze also said there were things the White House could do administratively -- like put an actual director at the ATF (either through Senate confirmation or recess appointment) and prosecute prohibited sellers (which he said the administration currently isn’t doing). By the way, don’t be surprised if the White House moves to unveil its proposals by as early as next week. In other gun-related news, Vice President Biden today will meet “with gun violence victims’ groups and gun safety organizations,” the AP reports. And Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly announce the formation of Americans for Responsible Solutions to counter the National Rifle Association in an op-ed on gun control in USA Today. 

*** Bloomberg’s wandering (mayoral) eye: Speaking of Bloomberg, the New York Times runs yet another story suggesting that the outgoing New York mayor isn’t happy with the slate of candidates running to succeed him. “Mr. Bloomberg has mused about a Mayor Charles E. Schumer with the Democratic senator from New York, and teased Mortimer B. Zuckerman, a fellow billionaire media mogul, about a possible bid. The mayor’s advisers raised the idea of a run with Edward G. Rendell, the former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and mayor of Philadelphia, and with Edward Skyler, Mr. Bloomberg’s former top deputy in City Hall, according to several people. The mayor’s most formal overture was delivered to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, perhaps Mr. Bloomberg’s most quixotic choice for the job.” More: “The flirtations are unwelcome news for [apparent front-runner Christine] Quinn, who has been Mr. Bloomberg’s reliable partner in city government for years.” How much sway does Bloomberg really have though? Yes, he changed the rules to win a third term, but voters didn’t overwhelmingly send him back. He spent millions to win a race that should never been as close as it was. Candidates who decide to fall under Bloomberg’s spell about running ought to take a look at the 2009 results: Bloomberg didn’t crack 51%.

*** Chris Christie to deliver State of the State address: The Philly Inquirer reports: “Gov. Christie will focus Tuesday's State of the State speech on rebuilding towns damaged by Hurricane Sandy, a storm that pushed the well-exposed Republican governor further into the national spotlight and brought him bipartisan praise. But New Jersey Democrats were clear Monday that they hold him responsible for the economic doldrums the state had fallen into before Sandy: a 9.6 percent unemployment rate and the country's second-highest foreclosure rate.” 

*** RIP, Richard Ben Cramer. The obituary from the New York Times: “Richard Ben Cramer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of “What It Takes,” a superbly detailed account of the 1988 presidential election considered among the finest books about American politics ever written, died in Baltimore on Monday night. He was 62.” On Twitter last night, it was striking to see so many political operatives and political journalists (your authors here included) note how inspirational “What It Takes” was to their careers. There are plenty of other folks offering great tributes to Cramer today. Ours is simple though: we believe there’s just one book every aspiring political journalist and operative ought to read if they want to know whether or not they are serious about this profession: it is “What It Takes.” It’s basically the unofficial textbook of Washington. If you haven’t read it, then you don’t get it. 

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Chuck Hagel -- a man without a party… And a man who has a tough confirmation fight ahead… The nut of the Hagel fight, and why Obama is sticking with him… Kerry-Hagel-Brennan -- a Team of Loyalists… McConnell on the upcoming fiscal fight… White House’s “far broader” and “more comprehensive” campaign to curb gun violence… And Hillary Clinton returns to work.

*** Hagel -- a man without a party: This afternoon, President Obama will tap former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel to be his nominee to lead the Defense Department. Hagel’s biggest obstacle to confirmation isn’t his controversial comments about Iran and Israel or his “overly aggressive gay” remark. Rather, it’s that he’s a man without a party. If Hagel were a Democrat, for instance, you would have seen someone like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) embrace his potential nomination on “Meet the Press” recently instead of being tepid about it. And if Hagel were a true-blue Republican -- having campaigned for Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates last fall -- you wouldn’t have seen folks like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) speak so critically of him. But Hagel’s in no-man’s-land territory, the place where the public says it wants many public officials to be, but where Washington can eat folks like this alive. He’s a Republican who later opposed the Iraq war, whose wife endorsed Obama in ’08, and who campaigned for Democrat Bob Kerrey in 2012. In recent times, every cabinet nominee from the opposition party (Bill Cohen, Norm Mineta, Bob Gates, Ray LaHood) has sailed through easily. But since we started covering politics, Hagel might be the first cabinet nominee from the opposition party who doesn't have the backing from that party. It’s amazing how things can change: Republicans universally support John Kerry for Secretary of State, but oppose Chuck Hagel for Defense.

Jim Young / Reuters

Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., attends a meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in this file photo from Oct. 28, 2009.

*** And a tough fight ahead: That said, Hagel does have a constituency of one -- and that’s the president of the United States. But it’s not going to be an easy fight. In fact, we’ve heard that as many as 10 DEMOCRATIC senators might be “no” votes on Hagel, or they at least start out as “no” on Hagel. So Hagel will have a lot of work to do, especially in his individual meetings with Democrats. Yet we hear that Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (D) will campaign heavily for Hagel, and that could flip Dem votes; Reed is very close to Hagel and very well respected on both sides of the aisle. Here’s something to chew on: What message would it send if Hagel -- a decorated war hero, a Vietnam vet, a two-term senator who served in office without scandal -- doesn’t get confirmed? As administration official told the New York Times, “At the end of the day, Republicans will support a decorated war hero who was their colleague for 12 years and has critical experience on veterans’ issues.” But as we argue above, Hagel’s bigger problem might be with Democrats, not Republicans. And don’t be surprised if you start hearing this complaint from Democrats: “Why does our party continue to pick Republicans (like Cohen, Bob Gates, and now Hagel) to head up the Defense Department?”

*** The nut of Hagel fight: There are two basic lines of attack against Hagel. One has to do with whether he’s a true ally of Israel. Detractors point to some votes Hagel made when it came to Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as some votes on Iran sanctions. But supporters of Hagel note he always voted in favor of full funding of Israel aid and did sign on to key pieces of legislation that did target Iran’s nuclear program and did target Hamas. Then, of course, is the quote attributed to Hagel where he referred to pro-Israel groups as “the Jewish lobby,” which is offensive to both pro-Israel supporters and Jews who do not like to be lumped in with the AIPAC’s of the world. Gay rights groups are not excited at all about Hagel because of comments the Nebraska Republican made against a gay ambassador nominee from the Clinton years, when he referred to James Hormel as “openly aggressively gay.” Former Congressman and (and potential TEMPORARY Massachusetts senator) Barney Frank has been highly critical. So there is a lot of “cover,” if you will, for someone on the left or right who WANTS to oppose Hagel to find a political reason to oppose him. But realize, some of the real reasons for folks to be against Hagel won’t be the issues we discussed above. For some Republican senators, it will simply be the fact that many of Hagel’s former Republican colleagues have not gotten over Hagel’s high-profile flip on the Iraq war. And for some Democrats, it’s the frustration that the president is turning to his SECOND Republican to run the Defense Department.

*** Why Obama is sticking with Hagel: So with all this potential political controversy surrounding Hagel, one might ask, “Why is Obama sticking by him?” There are two big reasons. One, he likes the idea of a man who wore the uniform who will NOT be intimidated by the generals at the Pentagon. And two, with the budget fights dominating the next few years in Washington and the issue of downsizing the Pentagon on the table, what better person to have leading the downsizing argument than a former Republican senator.

*** A Team of Loyalists: In addition to making the Hagel pick today, President Obama will announce White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to be his nominee to head the CIA, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports. Officials argue that, since 9/11, he has been at the forefront, on the front lines against al Qaeda. He has been involved in virtually "all major national security issues and will be able to hit the ground running at CIA,” the officials add to Mitchell. Brennan also has the complete confidence and trust of the president. And that’s the big signal Obama is sending by picking John Kerry for State, Chuck Hagel for Defense, and John Brennan for CIA -- he’s selecting people with whom he’s comfortable and who are loyal to him. (And in National Journal, Ron Fournier writes that Hagel “is Obama in a GOP jersey,” and that’s his biggest problem.) Bottom line: These are Obama people. But these are also three white men, and you’re going to start hearing voices demanding diverse picks for the other cabinet positions. And that grumbling could get louder when, as it is expected, the president names current Chief of Staff Jack Lew to Treasury and elevates current dep. National Security Adviser Denis McDonough to Chief of Staff. This could end up being a very busy week at the White House on the personnel front.

*** McConnell on the upcoming fiscal fight: The other big news today is over the upcoming political fight over the debt ceiling, the sequester, and government operations. On “Meet the Press” yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – who helped strike the fiscal-cliff deal with the Obama White House – didn’t disavow his 2011 comment that refusing to raise the debt ceiling is “a hostage that's worth ransoming." McConnell told NBC’s Gregory yesterday, “What we're saying here is the biggest problem confronting the country is our excessive spending. If we're not going to deal with it now, when are we going to deal with it? And we've watched the government explode over the last four years. We've dealt with the revenue issue.” When Gregory followed up to ask if tax revenue would not be part of the conversation, McConnell replied, “Yeah, that's over. I'm in favor of doing tax reform, but I think tax reform ought to be revenue neutral as it was back during the Reagan years. We've resolved this issue.” But McConnell also declined to answer if he would rule out a government shutdown. “What I'm telling you is I haven't given up on the president stepping up to the plate and tackling the single biggest issue confronting the country.” While McConnell was careful not to threaten a government shutdown, many of the Republican rank-and-file were not.

*** White House’s “far broader” and “more comprehensive” campaign to curb gun violence: Also, the Washington Post reported yesterday that the Obama White House “is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.” More: “A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.”

*** Hillary Clinton returns to work today: After her concussion and her hospitalization due to a blood clot, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returns to work today, meeting with her assistant secretaries at 9:15 pm ET.

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A day after relentlessly slamming John Boehner as “dismissive, cavalier and indifferent” for skipping a vote on Hurricane Sandy aid, New York Rep. Peter King took a different tack Thursday.

Live on TODAY, he called the House Speaker a “voice of reason” for later scheduling votes on two separate relief bills.

“I stand by what I said at the time. I thought it was time for shock therapy, which is why I said it,” the Republican told Matt Lauer about the barrage of comments he made Wednesday. “If we do not get this aid, this would be disastrous for the people of New York. This wasn’t some special gimmick we were looking for. This is life and death. I have people in my district living in the back of cars, living in dilapidated homes.”

At issue is $60 billion in relief for victims of the superstorm that devastated New York, New Jersey and large parts of the Northeast last fall. Boehner canceled an expected vote on the bill Tuesday night, infuriating lawmakers from storm-stricken areas, including many in his own Republican party already fractured over recent tax and spending issues.

Video: No House vote on bill for Sandy aid

King accused Boehner and other House Republicans of holding a regional bias against the Northeast. He also encouraged New York and New Jersey residents to boycott political campaign contributions, saying “anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans after this should have their head examined.”

The following morning, King eased off his statements.

“What’s done is done. The fact is, when the money was on the line yesterday, when the decision had to be made, John Boehner made the right decision. John Boehner agreed to put it all on the calendar,” he said.

“If we’re going to carry grudges for the rest of our lives, we’ll never get anything done.”

Boehner scheduled an initial vote on victim relief for Friday and another for Jan. 15 after a private meeting with King and other lawmakers from states affected by the October storm.

King said he was happy with the results with the proposed bills, calling them “well drawn.” He described his meeting with Boehner as cordial and businesslike. He also dismissed suggestions that the House Speaker reined him in for lashing out.

“No, not at all. He did make a joking, obscene reference, with a smile, and then he said, ‘I love you,’ and then we went into the meeting,” he said.

“I do consider John Boehner a friend, which is what really hurt the other day, but I felt I had to do with what I did for the voters of my district. John said he understood that. He understood the pressure. He understood the suffering.”

King expressed confidence that Boehner will be re-elected as House Speaker later Thursday.

“John is really a voice of reason in our conference despite some of the things I said yesterday,” he said.

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The fiscal cliff standoff continues, with House Speaker John Boehner extinguishing any hints of progress in talks with President Obama; meanwhile, a new NBC/WSJ poll shows the public has tempered their second-term expectations of Obama . NBC's Chuck Todd reports. 

The $2.2 trillion proposal floated by House Speaker John Boehner was shot down by the White House, which said Republicans' rejection of tax hikes for the wealthy and sweeping cuts to popular social programs are unacceptable. NBC's Chuck Todd reports. 

As President Obama spent his first post-election press conference saying that he wanted to reach across the aisle to work with Republicans, he found himself debating two former GOP presidential contenders: Mitt Romney, who blamed his defeat in part on Obama’s “gifts” to supporters, and Sen. John McCain, who pledged to block a possible nomination of Susan Rice as secretary of state. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports.

With Election Day less than 24 hours away, TODAY's Savannah Guthrie takes a look back at the long and winding road from the primaries to the voting booths.

Updated at 7:45pm ET The destruction brought by Monday’s hurricane is forcing election officials in New York City to look for new places for voters to cast their ballots next Tuesday.

New York City Board of Elections commissioner J.C. Polanco said in an interview Wednesday night that the ten commissioners are working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to find suitable substitute sites to voting places that have been inundated by sewer water, have no electrical power, or are too damaged to use on Election Day.

He said one option officials are weighing is to combine polling locations, while another is “having tents near the polling sites where the voters have normally voted, with state-funded generators, where our machines will be able to be placed, and our workers will be able to serve the voters.”

The ten-member bipartisan Board of Elections faces a massive logistical task since there are four million voters in New York City; in the 2008 election, 2.6 million cast ballots.

“Thankfully we’ve been able to secure the many scanners (for optical scan voting machines) in low-lying areas. For example in the county of Staten Island, Richmond, we were able to bring all those scanners to an armory,” he said.

An additional layer of complexity in New York City next Tuesday: the use of optical scan machines which for people who only vote in presidential elections will be a new experience, “the first time in over half a century” that voters will be facing new voting technology, Polanco said.

In neighboring Connecticut, Secretary of State Denise Merrill said Wednesday that despite the after-effects of hurricane Sandy she’s optimistic that normal voting will be taking place on Election Day.

After conferring with about 240 local election officials in her state on a conference call Wednesday morning, Merrill said in a phone interview, “We are prepared to go forward with the election. There are probably about 100 polling places at this point that are without power, but it looks like most of them could be moved if needed, but we’re hoping a lot of them will come back on line (before Election Day). Even in the towns most devastated, which were along the shore, places like Greenwich, Old Saybrook, Stonington – those were the towns that were hardest hit – most of the town halls are up and running. Even though there’s widespread damage to homes, the official polling places are probably going to be fine and we’re making alternate arrangement for a lot of the processes that we have to do before Election Day.”

She said the local officials seemed hopeful that polling locations “will be up and running by Election Day. CL&P (Connecticut Light & Power) is lot better on this then they were in the past. We’re in constant communication and they’re making these polling places a priority (for restoring electricity). And most of them are fire stations and schools and town halls which are going to the first priority anyway.”  

She said Connecticut does have provisions in state law for local election officials to consolidate or move a polling place “but it’s a very last resort. Fortunately or unfortunately, we have had practice: last year we had the storm (Hurricane Irene) on exactly the same day and there were towns that had to move polling places because they were so devastated by downed trees and power lines that they did move polling places.”

Pool / Reuters

An aerial view of the storm damage over the Atlantic Coast is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Seaside Heights, New Jersey October 31, 2012.

Merrill said one challenge if polling locations are moved is to inform voters in the towns or cities affected. “It has to be handled very carefully. They did it through reverse 911 calls to people which have been used already by local officials to notify people about downed power lines and that sort of thing. You have to post notices — it’s a very extensive process.”

Merrill noted that due to the hurricane, the state has extended the voting registration deadline by two extra days (until Thursday at 8 p.m.) and “we still have registrations pouring in so there’s still a lot of election activity going on.”

Connecticut does not have early voting or no-excuse absentee balloting.

Elsewhere in storm-affected states:

• New Jersey officials were still assessing polling site conditions. Jason Varano, assistant supervisor of the Ocean County Board of Elections, said workers were still in the process of checking on conditions at poll locations in the hard-hit county. He emphasized that New Jersey does allow for voting by mail and that although it’s too late for voters to request that a ballot be mailed to them they can go in person to the Ocean County Administration building in Toms River, N.J. and request a ballot. In Cape May County, Michael Kennedy, the registrar at the board of elections said officials surveyed polling locations Wednesday and found only one municipality, Ocean City, to be affected: two polling centers there cannot be used. One is under water and the other has water damage and no electricity. The county will combine those districts with others and inform residents about the changes in polling locations.
• In New Hampshire where thousands lost electric power due to the storm, a spokesman for Secretary of State Bill Gardner said reporting from emergency services agencies indicated that power would be on line in time for Election Day.
• In West Virginia, as early voting continued, the storm’s impact was felt in a tragic way: the name of one state legislative candidate, Republican John Rose, will remain on the ballot after he was killed during the snowstorm Tuesday by a falling tree limb. Rose’s death necessitated a special write-in candidate filing period with candidates needing to file by 5 p.m. on Thursday. If voter choose Rose the governor will select a legislator from a list of three candidates submitted by the Republican Party executive committee in Rose’s home county.

NBC News’s Natalie Cucchiara contributed to this report.