Democrats retained control of the Senate on Saturday, fending off Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to overturn President Joe Biden’s agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to muster a slim majority there. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to retain the Senate. Her victory reflects the surprising strength of Democrats across the US this election year. Seeking re-election in a financially troubled state that has some of the highest natural gas prices in the country, Cortez Masto was seen as the most vulnerable member of the Senate, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were sure she could be defeated. “We have done a lot and will do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday night. “The American people rejected – seriously rejected – the undemocratic, authoritarian, ugly and divisive direction that MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country,” he said. With the results in Nevada now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock faces GOP challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff. Alaska’s Senate race has moved to ranked-choice voting, though the seat will remain in Republican hands. Embattled in legal proceedings, Trump may see defensive value in pursuit of presidency Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Biden’s Cabinet appointments and judicial picks, including those for potential Supreme Court jobs. The party would also retain control of committees and have the power to investigate or scrutinize the Biden administration, and would be able to veto legislation sent from the House if the GOP wins that chamber. If Democrats manage to win the House, it would mean full control of Congress for Democrats — and another chance to advance Biden’s priorities, which he has said include codifying abortion rights. The party still lacks the 60 votes in the Senate needed to advance many kinds of major legislative changes. The Senate race had hinged on a handful of hotly contested positions. Both parties spent tens of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, the top battlegrounds where Democrats hoped the Republican decision to nominate untested candidates – many backed by former President Donald Trump – would it was helping them defy national headwinds. Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Trump, to take a seat currently held by a Republican. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly won re-election by about 5 percentage points. A closely divided swing state, Nevada is one of the most racially divided in the nation, a working-class state whose residents have been hit particularly hard by inflation and other economic turmoil. About three-quarters of Nevada voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction and about half called the economy the most important issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 2,100 state voters. Heading into the midterm elections, Republicans have focused relentlessly on the economy, a top concern for many voters amid stubborn inflation and high gas and food prices. The GOP also blasted Democrats on crime, a message that sometimes overstated the threat but nonetheless raised concern, particularly among suburban voters who drifted away from the party in 2018 and 2020. And they highlighted illegal border crossings, accusing Biden and other Democrats of failing to protect the country. But Democrats were buoyed by voters angered by the Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion. They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy, following the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol and Trump’s false claims – echoed by many GOP candidates – that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Schumer said the Democratic candidates’ promises to defend abortion rights resonated with voters. He said the election results made him feel good about the country and its commitment to democracy. “We knew that the negativity, the nastiness, the apologetics of Donald Trump’s big lie — and that the election is rigged when there’s no evidence of it — would hurt Republicans, not help them,” Schumer said. “But too many of them, and their candidates, fell into these traps.” Referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, Schumer said voters rejected “extremist MAGA Republicans.” Nationally, VoteCast showed that 7 in 10 voters said the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed that the coup was generally unpopular. And about 6 in 10 said they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide. Half of voters said inflation played an important role in their vote, while 44% said the future of democracy was their main concern. Beyond Congress, Democrats won key gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020. Republicans, however, held governor’s mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia – another battleground state that Biden narrowly won two years ago. Although the midterms failed to carry Republicans, Trump remains a major player in the national party and plans to announce his third bid for the presidency on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida – setting up a potential rematch for White House. with Biden.
