US Democrats maintain Senate majority
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s Democrats have retained control of the US Senate, a remarkable midterms election result that defied predictions of a Republican win over both houses of Congress.
Midterms traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power, and with inflation surging and Mr Biden’s popularity in the doldrums, Republicans had been expecting to ride a mighty “red wave” and capture the Senate and the House of Representatives.
But the wave never got much beyond a ripple and on Saturday (local time) US networks called the key Senate race in Nevada for Democrat incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, giving the party the 50 seats it needs for an effective majority.
The win clinches Democratic control in the Senate as Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote if the upper chamber is evenly split 50-50.
One Senate race remains up in the air – a runoff in Georgia set for December. The two parties had been neck-and-neck at 49 seats each after Democrat Mark Kelly was projected to win a tight Senate race in Arizona on Friday evening.
The result in the House of Representatives is also hanging in the balance, and while Republicans are slightly favoured to take control, it would be with a far smaller majority than they had envisaged going into Tuesday’s election.
In Arizona, Mr Kelly called for unity.
“After a long election, it can be tempting to remain focused on the things that divide us,” he said.
“But we’ve seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth.”