Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis delivered to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
One of America’s most controversial midterm races, between Adam Laxalt and Catherine Cortez Masto, is coming to the fore in Nevada. As of Thursday morning, Republican Mr. Laxalt maintained a slight lead over Democratic incumbent Ms. Cortez Masto in the Senate race with just over 79 percent of the vote, according to the New York Times. The race could still be subject to significant swings as two voter-heavy counties — Clark and Washoe — continued to record mail-in ballots late Wednesday night with wide margins for Democrats, according to the Nevada Independent. Those ballots will continue to come in over the next few days, as state law requires them to be sealed no later than Election Day. In the Nevada governor’s race, incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak was several points behind Republican challenger Joe Lombardo, Clark County sheriff and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police chief, as of Thursday morning with 79 percent of the vote counted. Four House seats are also up for grabs in Nevada, with Republican Mark Amodei claiming a first win as he won re-election for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District.
Basic points
Show latest update 1668096936
Meanwhile, in Arizona, an election denialist is trailing in the governor’s race
Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has a narrow lead over Republican former news anchor Cary Lake in Arizona’s race for governor on Thursday as officials in Maricopa County faced issues with ballot counting. Arizona has recorded 1.9 million votes, but 619,012 ballots remain uncounted. In addition, 339,191 need to be processed, while 16,740 provisional ballots remain to be processed. And 315,415 remain ready for classification. Ms. Lake is one of the most outspoken supporters of former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. She has called for the Arizona and Wisconsin election results to be invalidated. Eric Garcia has the story. Josh Marcus November 10, 2022 4:15 pm 1668096036
Undecided Nevada Senate Race Could Secure Majority for Democrats
As of Thursday morning, the Silver State Democrat trailed her GOP challenger by 15,812 votes, with Mr. Laxalt amassing 436,854 votes so far, compared to 421,042 for the incumbent. As the Georgia Senate race between Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker heads into December runoffs, a victory for Mr. Laxalt would once again put the fate of the upper chamber in the hands of Peach voters. State less than two years after the second round wins. by Mr. Warnock and Senator Jon Ossoff combined with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie to give Democrats control of an evenly divided House. Andrew Feinberg has the full report for the Independent. Josh Marcus November 10, 2022 4:00 p.m 1668095136
ICYMI: Obama Likens Nevada Sen. Candidate Adam Laxalt to ‘Crazy Uncle’
What do top Democrats think about Nevada’s Senate race? He likened Nevada Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt to a family’s “crazy uncle” during a campaign speech boosting incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. “You don’t have to take my word for it — a few weeks ago, 14 members of Adam Laxalt’s family announced their support for Catherine Cortez Masto,” he said. Josh Marcus November 10, 2022 3:45 pm 1668094236
EXPLAINED: What’s known about vote-counting delays in Nevada
Nevada’s high-profile gubernatorial and Senate races are too early to call, and details about the pending ballots are unclear. Here’s what we know about the Senate matchups between Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican former attorney general Adam Laxalt, and the governor’s race between Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and GOP Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo. Mike Catalini has the story for the Independent. Josh Marcus November 10, 2022 3:30 pm 1668093496
Will drought affect Senate races in Arizona and Nevada?
If Democrats want to retain control of the Senate, the Arizona and Nevada races are considered essential. One issue that could drive the outcome in this closely watched election is the ongoing extreme drought looming in the Southwest, jeopardizing access to water for millions and threatening to disrupt agriculture across the region. Things have gotten so bad that the federal government has stepped in to force water cuts from states that come from the Colorado River. So how does this affect the Senate? Well, in Arizona, Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly pressed the Biden administration to ease cuts in his home state — and was attacked by GOP challenger Blake Masters for not doing enough about the state’s water crisis. In Nevada, incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto was part of a group of senators who secured $4 billion in drought funding as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Groups like EDF Action, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund, have spent millions touting these efforts to voters. “It’s easy for politicians to stand, it’s harder for elected officials to actually be problem solvers,” David Kiewe, president of EDF Action and a former member of the Biden administration’s White House Council on Environmental Quality, told Grist. “When they do, their constituents will notice and it will benefit them politically.” Josh Marcus November 10, 2022 3:18 p.m 1668092026
Why the Nevada race is so important
In a letter to the editor before Election Day, Eric Garcia of the Independent described why the Nevada race between Adam Laxalt and Catherine Cortez Masto: “Nevada doesn’t get as much attention as other states because outside of Las Vegas and Reno, it’s largely considered rural and desert — and it only has six electoral votes. But that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. In fact, I’ve been following the state since Nevada’s 2020 Democratic primary, when eventual president Joe Biden came in a weak second place to Bernie Sanders. Sanders won thanks to an aggressive approach to Latinos in the state. “I started telling anyone who would listen (and many who wouldn’t) that this meant Biden could underperform with Latino voters in the presidential election as well. That would be confirmed when Donald Trump improved his margin with the group and Biden just won Nevada in 2020 – to say nothing of Trump’s strength in South Texas and Miami, where there are also large numbers of Latino voters. “Now, in the 2022 midterms, Nevada faces perhaps the tightest and perhaps most consistent races with Adam Laxalt facing Democratic Sen. Kathryn Cortez Masto. Gov. Steve Sisolak faces Republican Sheriff Joe Lombardo. and Republican Jim Marchand, who declines the election, faces Democrat Cisco Aguilar.” Megan Sheets November 10, 2022 2:53 p.m 1668091957
US midterms: Who won, who lost and what we know so far
As results continue to come in from the midterm elections, it quickly became clear that the contest was much closer than expected and the outcome more tragic and unpredictable than many had predicted. Republicans appear close to securing a majority in the House of Representatives as of this writing, but they could also gain a sneak advantage in the Senate, which would allow them to play havoc with Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. But the “red tsunami” that many explosive conservative commentators confidently predicted would level Washington has certainly not materialized. South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham admitted as much when asked by NBC what he had seen play out, dryly saying, “It’s definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for sure.” Here, The Independent provides all the latest results from the matches and breaks down who, who lost and what remains to be decided. Megan Sheets November 10, 2022 2:52 p.m 1668091913
Mail-in ballots in Nevada continue to arrive with wide margins for Democrats
As mail-in ballots continued to be counted in Nevada, the tight Senate race appeared to close some of the gap between Republican Adam Lexalt and Democratic challenger Catherine Cortez Masto. “In the Senate race, the combined results from Lyons, Nye and Wassoo cut Laxalt’s lead to less than 16,000,” tweeted Jon Ralston, CEO, The Nevada Independent, late Wednesday night, local time. “The Washoe mail-in was huge for CCM, turning a 5k deficit there into a 400 vote lead. The urban mail-in comes with big margins for Democrats,” he added, noting that votes likely won’t be tallied until Thursday. “This is the Senate race right now with 100,000+ mail-in ballots still being counted in Clark and Washoe,” he tweeted, sharing a snapshot of race results showing Mr. Laxalt leading by 15,812 against Mrs. Cortez Masto. Megan Sheets November 10, 2022 2:51 p.m
