Democrats Retain Control of Senate After Nevada Victory

Democrats will continue to dominate the Senate next year after Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Mast is re-elected in Nevada, Edison Research predicted Saturday, giving President Joe Biden a big win. Brought.

Still, Republicans came close to gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives as officials continued to count the votes cast in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections.

Cortez Masto narrowly defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt. Adam Laxalt was a former state attorney general who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

Democrats control at least 50 seats and Vice President Kamala Harris cut ties with the 100-member House of Representatives as Democrats control at least 50 seats in Mast’s victory just after Democratic Senator Mark Kelly won re-election in Arizona late Friday. can be

The Senate is split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans. The newly elected senators will take office on January 3.

If Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock wins Georgia’s runoff election on Dec. 6 against Republican challenger Herschel Walker, the Democratic majority will widen to 51-49. This gives Democrats an extra edge in passing a limited number of controversial bills that are allowed to move forward with a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 votes required for most legislation. I can do it.

Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator Kirsten Cinema of Arizona have “swing” votes that blocked or delayed several of Biden’s key initiatives, including the expansion of several social programs. is.

But with the Democrats winning 51 seats in the next Congress, Manchin and Cinema’s influence will weaken slightly.

It is not yet known which party will hold the majority in the House of Representatives for the next two years. Republicans continued to dominate, but some districts were still profitable, including liberal-leaning California.

Democrats scored a major upset on Saturday with an expected victory in Washington’s third congressional district, with Democrat Marie Grusenkamp Perez defeating Trump supporter Joe Kent.

It could be days or more before the results of enough House elections to determine party control of its 435-seat House are known.

Democrats got a significant boost late Friday, with Democratic Senator Kerry of Arizona expected to retain her seat, defeating Republican Blake Masters, who, like Laxalt, was Trump-backed. Masters does not allow racing.

Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot and astronaut, gave a brief victory speech to Phoenix supporters on Saturday, with his wife, former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, at his side. His remarks focused on working bipartisanly in Congress.

Kelly did not mention the Masters, but said, “I have seen the consequences when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus on past conspiracies rather than on solving today’s challenges. rice field.

The midterm elections echoed former President Trump’s false claim that many Republican candidates, including Masters, lost the 2020 election to Biden due to massive voter fraud.

Clark County, Nevada officials were processing ballots that arrived in the mail or in drop boxes, but county registrar Joe Gloria said his office had no allegations of fraud. said.

At a press conference, he said he had “not heard anything from the campaign related to fraud or questions” about the process or results.

No winner is yet predicted in the race for governor of Arizona, where Democrat Katie Hobbs has a narrow lead over Republican Kari Lake. Democrat Cisco Aguilar defeated Republican Jim Marchant in the race for Nevada’s secretary of state. Jim Merchant is a prominent supporter of Trump’s false claim that 2020 voters are rigged.

Judicial nominations in jeopardy

The Democratic-controlled Senate, under the leadership of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, offers Biden the insurance that his candidate, who will supplement dozens of federal judges, will get approval.

This will be especially important for Democrats if the final two years of Biden’s term open up seats on the U.S. Supreme Court, which is now 6-3 conservatives in the majority.

Schumer will soon confirm two more federal judges awaiting final votes as the outgoing Senate returns on Monday for a post-election work session that could last until late December. We aim to

Trump has always been on the edge of the 2022 midterm elections. Trump has used his continued popularity among far-right conservatives to influence the candidates Republicans nominate for Congress, governors, and local elections.

Republicans’ performance was lackluster on Tuesday, and Trump has been accused of backing candidates who failed to appeal to a wide enough voter base, even as they won a narrow majority in the House. .

Both Laxalt and Walker of Georgia gained Trump’s endorsement. A Republican loss in either of his two races could further erode President Trump’s popularity. Advisors say President Trump is considering announcing his candidacy for his third term in 2024. Changed and wants to make permanent his set of 2017 tax cuts that are about to expire. It also plans to investigate the activities of the Biden administration and the sons of presidents who do business with Ukraine and China.

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Phoenix; additional reporting and writing by Richard Cowan in Washington; editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)