CNN expects Democrats to maintain their slim Senate majority for the next two years after victories in tight contests in Nevada and Arizona. Democrats now have 50 seats in the Senate, while Republicans have 49.
In Nevada, CNN expects the Democratic senator. Former prosecutor and state attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto will defeat Republican Adam Laxalt, her successor in the attorney general’s office and former Senator’s son and grandson.
In Arizona, CNN expects the Democratic senator. Mark Kelly, husband of ex-astronaut and ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the venture capitalist endorsed by Trump and backed by tech moguls and emerging GOP superdonors, will beat Republican Blake Masters Supported by Peter Thiel.
Georgia’s race among Democratic senators. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are heading into the December runoff after neither passed the 50% threshold on Tuesday.
Even if Republicans win the Georgia runoff, though, Vice President Kamala Harris will continue to cast a tie-breaking vote in the evenly divided Senate to secure a Democratic majority.
So far, only one Senate seat has changed hands in the 2022 midterm elections: Pennsylvania, the Democratic lieutenant general. Gov. John Fetterman, who entered the campaign after recovering from a stroke in May, defeated Republican Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans managed to hold on to their seats in tight races in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, while Democrats held on to tight races in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire. seats.
More on the Democratic Senate win: Retaining control of the Senate is a huge boost for the remaining two years of President Biden’s first term in the White House.
That means Democrats will have the ability to confirm Biden’s judicial nominee — avoiding the situation that former President Barack Obama faced in 2016 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected his Supreme Court nominee. Merrick Garland votes. It also means Senate Democrats can reject House-passed bills and set their own agenda.