Either the Democrats or the Republicans can win the majority in the Senate with sweeps in both states. A split will turn Georgia’s Dec. 6 Senate runoff into a proxy battle for the chamber, which dominates President Joe Biden’s judicial appointments. In the race for the House of Representatives, Republicans were inching closer to wresting control of the House from Biden’s Democrats. Control of the House would give Republicans veto power over Biden’s legislative agenda and allow them to launch potentially damaging investigations into his administration. Republicans had secured at least 211 of the 218 House seats needed for a majority after Tuesday’s midterm vote, according to Edison Research late Thursday, while Democrats had won 197. That left 27 races still to be decided, including several close matches. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has already announced his intention to run for president if the Republicans take over, an outcome he has called inevitable. Biden told reporters Thursday that he and McCarthy had spoken, but said he had not given up hope that Democrats could win the House, despite the difficult odds. “It’s still alive,” he said of their chances. (Live election results from across the country are here) Officials overseeing vote counts in Arizona and Nevada Senate races, where Democratic incumbents have been trying to fend off Republican challengers, said it could take until next week to tally the uncounted ballots. A top election official in Arizona’s most populous county said Thursday that workers there had a backlog of more than 400,000 uncounted ballots. “We’re going to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday and get to those polls. The staff here is working 14 to 18 hours a day. We’re doing everything we can,” Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates told reporters.
TRUMP “KING TRUMP” STATUS SUCCEEDS
Results in Tuesday’s midterm elections fell far short of the sweeping “red wave” of gains Republicans had hoped for, despite Biden’s anemic approval ratings and voters’ deep frustration with high inflation. Democrats portrayed Republicans as extremists, pointing to the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the nation’s right to abortion and the hundreds of Republican candidates who promoted former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Some of Trump’s most high-profile candidates lost key races on Tuesday, tarnishing his status as a Republican kingmaker and leading several Republicans to blame his divisive brand for the party’s disappointing performance. The result may increase the chances that Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who unseated his Democratic challenger on Tuesday, will choose to challenge Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination. While Trump has not officially launched a third campaign for the White House, the former president has strongly suggested doing so and is planning a “special announcement” at his Florida club on Tuesday. Trump blasted DeSantis in a statement Thursday, taking credit for the governor’s political rise while attacking critics on his social media site, Truth Social. Even a narrow Republican majority in the House would be able to demand concessions in exchange for votes on a key issue like raising the nation’s borrowing limit. But with few votes to spare, McCarthy may struggle to hold together his caucus — particularly the hard-right faction that is largely aligned with Trump and has no interest in compromise. Reporting by Tim Reid in Phoenix and Joseph Ax in Washington. Written by Joseph Ax and Rami Ayyub. Edited by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Angus MacSwan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
