Democrats say voters rejected extremism as Republicans point blame - The Washington Post

“When far-right Republicans said they knew better, I knew we would beryllium them wrong,” Cortez Masto said successful a triumph code Sunday. “This election, Nevadans rejected the far-right politicians moving to disagreement us. We rejected their conspiracies, their attacks connected our workers, and their efforts to restrict our freedoms.”

With the Senate runoff successful Georgia next month betwixt Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) and Republican Herschel Walker, Democrats person a accidental to prime up a 51st seat, a stunning feat successful a midterm predetermination twelvemonth that typically does not favour the enactment successful power.

The developments person prompted immoderate frustrated Republicans to telephone connected Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to intelligibly laic retired a Republican docket and to delay their enactment elections that are scheduled for Wednesday.

If Democrats triumph a 51st Senate spot done the Georgia runoff election, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) would beryllium capable to bypass a power-sharing solution with Republicans, successful spot due to the fact that of the 50-50 Senate, and much easy corroborate President Biden’s judicial nominees.

Democrats present person much leeway to usage their constrictive legislature majorities to propulsion done last priorities earlier they whitethorn suffer power of the House successful the caller year. If Republicans had won backmost the Senate, Democrats would walk overmuch of the clip frantically pushing done must-pass authorities earlier losing the gavels of Senate committees.

Now, they tin crook to priorities they laid retired earlier the midterms including further Ukraine funding, the National Defense Authorization Act, overhauling the Electoral Count Act, codifying same-sex matrimony into national law, and backing the government.

Schumer connected Saturday nighttime called the results a “vindication” for the Democratic docket and a rejection of Republican extremism. On Sunday, helium called connected Republican lawmakers to enactment with Democrats but declined to get into specifics astir what they would effort to accomplish. He said Democrats would effort to person “as productive a lame-duck league arsenic possible.”

“Maybe the Republican Party, which has been truthful antagonistic connected truthful galore antithetic issues, volition recognize that the predetermination was a clarion telephone by the American people: Stop each this negativity, halt flirting with autocracy, halt spending your clip denying the election, and enactment to get thing done,” Schumer said.

Some Senate Republicans, including Rick Scott (Fla.), seat of the chamber’s Republican run arm, criticized McConnell for allowing Republicans to transverse the aisle and assistance Democrats walk immoderate cardinal pieces of authorities with their slim bulk implicit the past 2 years, including an infrastructure measure and concern successful manufacturing of microchips.

“Republican enactment caved successful connected the indebtedness ceiling, caved successful connected the weapon deal, caved successful connected a fake infrastructure deal,” Scott said Sunday connected Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” portion criticizing McConnell for not releasing his ain Republican docket up of the midterms.

Scott’s Republican agenda, which calls for taxation increases connected lower-income radical and predominant reauthorization votes for Social Security and Medicare, has been blamed by immoderate Republicans, including New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), for scaring older voters up of the midterm elections. The White House and Democrats utilized the program repeatedly to pass that Republicans wanted to people entitlement programs if elected.

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) clinched a 3rd word — a feat that hasn’t happened successful his territory successful 25 years — due to the fact that helium hammered Trump acolyte Karoline Leavitt for her stances connected Social Security.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who narrowly won reelection, echoed overmuch of Scott’s disapproval connected Fox News and besides called for a hold successful the enactment elections. But different Republican senators, including Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Bill Cassidy (La.), defended McConnell publically Sunday and said they supported his enactment bid.

No legislator has yet announced a situation to McConnell, who volition go the longest-serving person of either enactment successful the Senate successful the adjacent Congress if helium is reelected. A typical for McConnell declined to remark Sunday.

Others formed the blasted squarely connected erstwhile president Donald Trump, who backed respective Republican candidates successful battleground states who lost, including Pennsylvania Senate campaigner Mehmet Oz and Arizona Senate campaigner Blake Masters.

“It’s fundamentally the 3rd predetermination successful a enactment that Donald Trump has outgo america the race. And it’s like, 3 strikes you’re out,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), a longtime Trump critic, said connected CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The explanation of insanity is doing the aforesaid happening implicit and implicit again expecting a antithetic result,” helium said. “I’m bushed of losing. That’s each he’s done.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) connected NBC’s “Meet the Press” connected Sunday credited Biden and Democratic voters for the midterm wins. She called connected her enactment to assistance the indebtedness ceiling successful the lame duck league to guarantee Republicans are not capable to withhold their votes for lifting it adjacent twelvemonth if Republicans triumph backmost the House. Some House Republicans had floated the thought of demanding spending cuts and repealing IRS backing successful instrumentality for lifting the indebtedness ceiling.

House Republican aides, who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon backstage deliberations, conceded that they volition request Democrats’ assistance if they unafraid a slim bulk to o.k. must-pass authorities similar backing the government. Many are hoping Democrats walk the indebtedness ceiling successful the lame-duck session, a concession from conscionable weeks agone erstwhile they were hoping to usage that arsenic leverage to walk halfway GOP priorities adjacent year.

Schumer said helium would sermon lifting the indebtedness ceiling successful the lame-duck league with his members. It’s unclear if capable Senate Republicans would transverse the aisle to backmost the move, oregon if adjacent the full Democratic caucus would beryllium consenting to preemptively assistance the indebtedness ceiling connected a party-line vote.

Control of the House remained successful the balance connected Sunday, with neither enactment yet securing the 218 seats required to instrumentality the majority. Most of the uncalled legislature races are successful California, wherever ballots are valid arsenic agelong arsenic they are postmarked by Election Day and wherever last predetermination tallies could take weeks to determine.

In a large upset Saturday night, Democrats flipped a spot successful a reliably Republican territory successful Washington authorities arsenic Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez bushed Trump-backed Republican challenger Joe Kent. The erstwhile president promoted Kent successful the superior implicit Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, who voted to impeach Trump aft the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the Capitol.

As of Sunday afternoon, Republicans person won 211 House seats, portion Democrats person won 203. Democrats person a slim accidental of retaining power of the House, though Republicans are inactive favored to instrumentality a constrictive majority. Despite that, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) struck an optimistic and celebratory code successful interviews Sunday.

“It was not thing that we ever accepted erstwhile the pundits successful Washington said we couldn’t triumph due to the fact that history, history, history. Elections are astir the future,” Pelosi said connected ABC’s “This Week.” “I’m precise arrogant of our candidates, some our incumbents arsenic good arsenic our red-to-blue candidates. They ne'er accepted the punditry that they couldn’t win, they had courage, they had purpose, and they understood their district.”

Pelosi waved disconnected immoderate questions astir whether she would tally for House talker again, if Democrats bent connected to the bulk successful the chamber, saying she lone wanted to absorption connected contention results. She added that she was “disappointed” with what happened successful New York.

That was wherever Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, president of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, mislaid his race. “But we haven’t fixed up,” Pelosi said. “We person the White House, we person the Senate, and we’re going to person a large beardown ballot successful the House, a precise antithetic result than immoderate would person predicted.”

Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report.