While today was a day for Missouri Democrats to celebrate their new governor, Jay Nixon, as well as other statewide success, plenty of Republicans from the state were in a festive mood, too.

Taking in the Inaugural Day festivities together were newly elected state senators from the GOP: Jane Cunningham of Chesterfield, Jim Lembke of Lemay, Kurt Schaefer of Columbia, Eric Schmitt of Glendale and David Pearce of Warrensburg. The line of new senators (along with returning state Sen. Scott Rupp of Wentzville, sat together during the Inaugural Day festivities.

In one of the surprises of election season, Missouri Republicans added three senators to their already strong Senate majority. Lembke and Schaefer won two of the closest races.

Asked about the new sense of bipartisanship being shown between the Senate’s leader, Sen. Charlie Shields of St. Joseph, and the new governor, Rupp said it’s very real and it’s already brought a new tone to political discussion in the Capitol.

“It’s already making a difference,” Rupp said.

The tone was echoed by St. Louis attorney John Temporiti, a longtime Nixon ally who is the outgoing executive director of the Democratic Party.

“Sen. Shields and Gov-elect Nixon — both of them have already extended the hand of cooperation,” Temporiti said. “I haven’t ever seen anything like it in terms of cooperation.”

Temporiti said before the event that his proudest moment in politics would be being able to drop the “elect” after governor and call his good friend Gov. Nixon.