Democrats Await Nevada Result That Could Seal Senate Majority

PHOENIX (Reuters) – Democrats on Saturday were one seat away from majority control of the Senate next year, as vote-counting in deeply divided Nevada continued following Tuesday’s midterm elections and campaigning kicked off for a Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia.

If incumbent Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto manages to fend off Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada, her party would then control 50 of the Senate’s 100 seats.

A Democratic victory in Georgia next month would then give the party outright majority control of a 51-49 Senate. A Democratic loss in Georgia and a win in Nevada would still put Democrats in charge of a 50-50 Senate, as Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris can break tie votes.

The Senate currently is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. The newly-elected Senate will be sworn in on Jan. 3.

The processing of ballots in Clark County, Nevada, which encompasses Las Vegas and is heavily Democratic, was advancing with over 22,000 additional votes possibly counted by late on Saturday, said Joe Gloria, the county registrar.

Such a large new number of votes in the statewide tally opened the possibility that this Senate race could be decided by late on Saturday.

With nearly 97% of the vote counted in the Nevada Senate race, Laxalt was leading by around 800 votes. However, uncounted votes from Cortez Masto strongholds could vault her to victory.

At a press conference, Gloria was asked whether his office had received any complaints of fraud or other irregularities from either campaign. “We haven’t heard anything from any campaign related to fraud or questioning” of the process or results so far, he responded.

Suspense over control of the Senate came as it also was still unknown which party will hold the majority in the House of Representatives for the next two years. Republicans continued to have an edge, but returns were still flowing in for several races, including many in liberal-leaning California.

It could take at least a few more days before the outcome of enough House races are known to determine party control of that 435-seat chamber.

Democrats got an important boost late on Friday when Democratic Senator Mark Kelly was projected to hold onto his seat in Arizona, defeating Republican Blake Masters, who has not yet conceded the race.

Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut, delivered a short victory speech to his supporters in Phoenix on Saturday with his wife, former Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords, at his side. His remarks focused on working in Congress in a bipartisan manner.

Kelly did not mention Masters, but said: “We’ve seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on conspiracies of the past than solving the challenges that we face today.”