The Democratic Party retained control of the U.S. Senate Saturday night with the reelection of Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, giving the Democrats 50 seats to the Republicans’ 49, so far.
Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general, to win.
“I'm not surprised by the turnout. I'm incredibly pleased by the turnout,” President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said.
He made the comments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he is meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“I think it's a reflection of the quality of our candidates. ... I'm looking forward to the next couple of years,” he said.
With the victories of Cortez Masto, which The Associated Press called Saturday night, and that of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in Arizona late on Friday, Democrats now control 50 Senate seats.
One last seat has yet to be filled, Georgia’s. That race will be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff election between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, former football player Herschel Walker.
Even if Walker wins, also giving the Republicans 50 of the 100 seats in the Senate, the Democrats would control the body because Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, could cast tie-breaking votes.
“It's always better with 51, because we're in a situation where you don't have to have an even makeup of the committees,” Biden said.
“The bigger the numbers, the better,” he added.
The control of the House of Representatives is still being decided as final vote tallies have yet to be posted in numerous districts, mostly in Western states. “We can win it,” Biden said. “Whether we're gonna win it remains to be seen.”
Ballots mailed on Election Day can be counted in Nevada if they were received by Saturday. Officials in that state have a Thursday deadline to finish counting all the ballots.
Both Nevada and Arizona were working to count a large number of mail-in ballots, which take longer to tally because election officials need to match signatures on mail-in ballots to voter registration rolls.
Election workers in Arizona are also still counting ballots to determine the outcome of the race for governor as well as three competitive House seats.
Kari Lake, the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, has accused election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous, of deliberately delaying the vote counting to make it look like Democrats are doing better than they actually are.
The Republican chair of the county board of supervisors, Bill Gates, rebuffed the charge, saying staff are working 14 to18 hours a day and will continue to do so through the weekend.
“This is how things work in Arizona and have for decades,” he said, adding, “We are doing what we can and still maintaining accuracy.”
In the race for control of the House of Representatives, Republicans edged closer to winning control but have not yet reached a majority of seats.
Heading into Sunday, Republicans appeared to have won 211 House contests in their quest to attain a 218-vote majority in the 435-member chamber. Democrats have won 204 seats, leaving 20 races undecided, according to The Associated Press, as vote counting continues.
In California, results in more than a dozen competitive House districts have yet to be announced.
Republicans say they are confident they will win the House majority even as they voice dismay that the size of their political advantage over Democrats is likely to be far smaller than pre-election predictions that forecast a “red wave” of Republican winners filling the House chamber come January, when the new Congress is sworn in.
If Republicans do take control of the House, it would give them veto power over President Joe Biden’s agenda and the ability to launch investigations into his administration.
Biden on Wednesday characterized his Democratic Party as having done better than expected against the Republicans and announced he will invite leaders of both parties to the White House after he returns from G-20 meetings in Indonesia to discuss how to work together on economic and national security priorities.
Whatever the eventual outcome, Biden said the election, carried out with only minor disputes across the country, was a good day for America.
"Our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their votes, the American people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are," he said.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
