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Democrats volition proceed to control the Senate pursuing the 2022 midterm elections, aft Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto connected Saturday was projected by CBS News to triumph a choky reelection contention against Republican Adam Laxalt.
Her triumph gives Democrats 50 seats successful the 118th Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote, should it beryllium needed, gives them the majority, careless of the result of the Georgia runoff predetermination successful December betwixt Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
"The predetermination is simply a large triumph for the American people," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said successful a briefing precocious Saturday night. "With the races present called successful Arizona and Nevada, Democrats volition person a bulk successful the Senate, and I volition erstwhile again beryllium bulk leader."
Republicans could inactive instrumentality control of the House, wherever a fistful of races stay unresolved. However, power of the Senate means Democrats volition person the quality to efficaciously termination immoderate authorities emerging from a GOP-led House, enabling them to shield President Biden from politically risky authorities that a Senate led by Republicans mightiness person brought to a vote. A Democratic Senate besides makes it overmuch easier for Mr. Biden to triumph support for judicial nominations and name his desired candidates to positions crossed the authorities implicit the past 2 years of his term.
A pleased Mr. Biden — who is successful Phnom Penh, Cambodia, attending the acme for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — told reporters Sunday greeting that Schumer has "got a bulk again."
"We're focusing present connected Georgia," Mr. Biden said. "We consciousness bully astir wherever we are. And I cognize I'm a cockeyed optimist. I recognize that from the beginning, but I'm not amazed by the turnout. I'm incredibly pleased by the turnout. And I deliberation it's a reflection of the prime of our candidates. And they're each moving connected the aforesaid program. There wasn't anybody who wasn't moving connected what we did. They're each staying, sticking with it. And so, I consciousness good. I'm looking guardant to the adjacent mates years."
Before Election Day, immoderate Republicans had begun to judge Senate power was wrong reach, since Mr. Biden is suffering from underwater support ratings amid precocious ostentation and voters' antagonistic views of the system successful each the battleground states.
But successful the months earlier the wide election, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed uncertainty that Republicans could instrumentality the Senate, which helium blamed connected "candidate quality." Many of the Republican candidates who mislaid were far-right and endorsed by erstwhile President Donald Trump, which gave them momentum during the superior season. But they failed to entreaty to independents and moderates successful the wide election.
Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring from the Senate, and whose spot was won by Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, blamed Trump for the missed GOP opportunity.
"The information is overwhelmingly wide — the much candidates who are associated with Donald Trump, and the ultra MAGA movement, and this mendacious conception that the predetermination was stolen from him successful 2020, the much that was the message, the much they lost, and successful galore places, it was a stark to a much accepted Republican who was winning," helium said successful an interrogation connected Fox News Saturday.
Though helium didn't place him by name, Toomey referred to the far-right Republican campaigner for politician Doug Mastriano arsenic "a anemic campaigner who loses by 15 points, the astir for an unfastened spot since the 1950s."
He went connected to enactment that "we mislaid 3 opportunities to flip House seats, mislaid power of the authorities House…and the enactment needs to get past Donald Trump."
Alaska, wherever 3 candidates were connected the ballot successful a ranked-choice voting system, has besides not yet been called, but with the apical 2 finishers some Republicans, CBS News projects it volition enactment successful Republican hands.
On Friday evening, CBS News projected Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly volition triumph reelection implicit Republican challenger Blake Masters.
In different battleground states, CBS News projected the races successful Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina volition spell to Republicans, portion Democrats volition triumph successful Colorado, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
In each of the Senate battlegrounds wherever CBS News has conducted exit polls, voters said power of the Senate was important to their vote. CBS News conducted statewide surveys successful 11 cardinal battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
In each of these states, voters had antagonistic views of the nation's economy.
In astir of the Senate battleground states, the contented of ostentation outpaced termination successful presumption of the value of the contented to voters. But successful Pennsylvania's closely-watched race, wherever Fetterman came retired up of Republican campaigner Dr. Mehmet Oz, exit polling showed termination outpaced ostentation arsenic a interest for voters.
According to aboriginal exit polling Tuesday, astir 3 successful 4 voters said they were dissatisfied astir the country. That includes astir one-third who said they were angry. Almost three-quarters said the system is bad, and astir fractional of voters said their family's finances are worse than they were 2 years ago.
Thirty-five Senate seats were up for grabs successful full successful the 2022 midterm elections, but nether one-third were expected to beryllium close.
Musadiq Bidar and Jack Turman contributed to this report.
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