>
BREAKING Democrats Hold Senate Control After Catherine Cortez Masto Holds Off Adam Laxalt to Win Tight Nevada Race with One Georgia Seat Still Up for Grabs
- The AP called Saturday night’s Nevada race for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
- It gives the Democrats 50 seats in the Senate and means they retain control
Democrats will retain control of the Senate after multiple news organizations predicted Saturday night that Catherine Cortez Masto would retain her seat.
It means Democrats have won 50 seats, enough to hold the majority with Vice President Kamala Harris’ casting vote — and with one more seat up for grabs in Georgia.
Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former attorney general who was backed by former President Donald Trump.
His defeat puts a poor performance on Republicans, who hoped that President Joe Biden’s low popularity, a cost of living crisis and the usual backlash against the party in power would bring them huge gains.
Trump himself has emerged as a GOP scapegoat because several of his picks underperformed.
GOP challenger Adam Laxalt (left) lost to Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (right) in the Nevada Senate race. It means the Democrats keep control of the Senate
Democrats retained control of the Senate with a 50th seat called up for the party on Saturday
The Democrats were delighted.
Senator Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said: “Voters across the country have expressed resounding support for the majority of Democrats in the Senate.
“These historic results in race after race speak for themselves, and they reflect the strength of our candidates, the popularity of the Senate Democrats’ message to the American people, and a rejection of the extremism embraced by the GOP.”
Republicans have already begun a post-mortem inquiry, with some key votes asking if they needed a more positional message — rather than just bashing the Democrats.
Most forecasters predicted a narrow Republican lead in the battle for control of the Senate.
However, the major races in Pennsylvania, Arizona and now Nevada all went to the Democrats.
They can still secure a seat in Georgia, where Senator Raphael Warnock will face former soccer star Herschel Walker in a second round in December. Walker has been rocked by repeated allegations that he paid for abortions and pressured women to undergo terminations, despite being active on an anti-abortion platform.