PHOENIX, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Democrats will retain control of the U.S. Senate after Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won re-election in Nevada, Edison Research predicted on Saturday, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden.
Still, Republicans remained close to winning control of the US House of Representatives as officials continued to count ballots cast in Tuesday’s US midterm elections.
Cortez Masto narrowly defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
With Masto’s victory after Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly won re-election in Arizona on Friday afternoon, Democrats will control at least 50 seats in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break ties in the 100-member chamber.
“America showed that we believe in our democracy, that the roots of democracy are deep and strong,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat, said at a news conference.
The Senate is currently split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. The newly elected senate will be sworn in on January 3.
Continued control of the Senate means Democrats will still be able to approve Biden’s nominees, such as federal judges. Should a vacancy open in the next two years, that would mean any appointment to the Supreme Court.
If Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock were to win Georgia’s Dec. 6 runoff election against Republican challenger Herschel Walker, it would expand the Democratic majority to 51-49. That would give Democrats an added advantage in passing the few bills they can advance with a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 needed for most legislation.
It would also dilute the influence of Democratic senators Joe Manchin in West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona, “swing” votes that have blocked or delayed some of Biden’s major initiatives, including expansions of some social programs.
A LOT OF WASHINGTON STATE
It could be several days or more before the outcome of enough House races is known to determine which party will have a majority in the 435-seat chamber. Republicans continued to hold an advantage, but returns were still flowing for several races, including many in liberal-leaning California.
Biden, speaking in Cambodia, said his party would focus on winning the Georgia Senate race, but as for the prospect of retaining control of the House, he said, “It’s a stretch.”
House Republicans, if they prevail, have pledged to try to reverse Biden’s climate change victories and want to make permanent a series of expiring 2017 tax cuts. They have also planned investigations into the activities of the Biden administration and probes into the president’s son, who has had business dealings with Ukraine and China.
[1/4] Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto leads a rally ahead of the midterm elections in Henderson, Nevada, U.S., November 7, 2022. REUTERS/David Swanson
Democrats scored a major upset on Saturday with an expected victory in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defeated Trump-backed Joe Kent.
In Nevada, Democrat Cisco Aguilar won the race to be the state’s next secretary of state, the state’s top election official. He defeated Jim Marchant, a Republican who supported Trump’s false claim that he lost the 2020 election to Biden because of voter fraud.
Democrats also defeated Republican candidates in Michigan and Arizona who had supported Trump’s false claim and were seeking to be their state’s top election officials.
Democrats received a major boost Friday afternoon when Kelly, the Democratic senator from Arizona, is expected to retain his seat, defeating Republican Blake Masters, who like Laxalt was endorsed by Trump. Masters has not conceded the race.
“We’ve seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on past conspiracies than solving the challenges we face today,” said Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot and astronaut. in a short victory speech. to his fans in Phoenix on Saturday.
No winner was yet projected in the Arizona governor’s race, where Democrat Katie Hobbs held a narrow lead over Republican Kari Lake, another pro-Trump election denier.
(Live election results from around the country are here)
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS IN JUGA
A Democratic-controlled Senate will provide Biden with assurance that his nominees for dozens of federal judgeships will be confirmed. That would be especially crucial for Democrats if a seat on the Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative majority, opens up in the final two years of Biden’s term.
When the outgoing Senate returns Monday for a post-election work session that could last until the end of December, Schumer aims to immediately confirm two more federal judges pending final votes.
The 2022 midterm elections have been all year for Trump, who used his continued popularity among far-right conservatives to influence the candidates the Republican Party nominated for races in Congress, Gov. and local
With Republicans performing poorly on Tuesday, even if they win a narrow majority control of the House, Trump has been blamed for pushing candidates who failed to appeal to a broad enough electorate.
A Republican loss in Georgia could further dampen Trump’s popularity as advisers say he is considering announcing a third run for the presidency in 2024 this week.
Reporting by Tim Reid in Phoenix and Richard, Cowan, Jason Lange and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Ross Colvin and William Mallard
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