Democrats will hold onto control of the US Senate after Senator Catherine Cortez Masto won re-election in Nevada, according to projections, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden.
Still, Republicans remained close to winning control of the US House of Representatives as officials continued counting ballots cast in Tuesday’s 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 on the heels of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly winning re-election in Arizona late on Friday, Democrats will control at least 50 Senate seats, 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, a Democrat, told a news conference.
The Senate is currently split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. The newly elected Senate will be sworn in on 3 January 2023.
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 appointees to the Supreme Court.
If Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock were to win the 6 December Georgia runoff election against Republican challenger Herschel Walker, that would expand Democrats’ majority to 51-49. That would give Democrats an additional edge in passing the few bills that are able to advance with a simple majority of votes, instead of 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 who have blocked or delayed some of Biden’s major initiatives, including expansions of some social programs.
