In the United States, the Democrats will retain their narrow majority in the Senate until 2024, American media report. After all, they report that US President Joe Biden’s party has also won the midterms in Nevada and Arizona. The Democrats retain their 50 seats in the Senate. The Republicans have 49. One seat will only be decided in December.
It is estimated that Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a former prosecutor and attorney general, will defeat Republican Adam Laxalt.
In Arizona, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is expected to defeat Republican Blake Masters, a venture capitalist backed by Trump.
The Georgia race between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker moves to a second round in December after neither candidate passed the 50 percent threshold on Tuesday.
In any case, it is already certain that the Democrats will retain the majority in the Senate, since Vice President Kamala Harris has the casting vote if the votes are evenly distributed.
Preservation of seats
So far, only one Senate seat has changed hands in the 2022 midterm elections: in Pennsylvania, where Democrat John Fetterman, who campaigned while recovering from a stroke in May, defeated Republican Mehmet Oz, the famed doctor who became backed by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans successfully defended their seats in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, while Democrats kept their seats in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire.
Meaning
That Democrats retain control of the Senate means they can confirm nominations of judges, ambassadors and government officials nominated by Biden. This will help them avoid scenarios like the one faced by former President Barack Obama in 2016, when Republican Mitch McConnell, then Senate leader, refused to vote on Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
In addition, Democrats will also be able to reject bills from the House of Representatives – where Republicans will have an expected majority – and set their own agenda.
Republicans, on the other hand, appear to be able to secure a majority in the House of Representatives, which they will likely use to launch numerous parliamentary investigations into Joe Biden’s administration or his closest associates.
“This election is a victory and a justification,” Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference in New York on Saturday night. In the win for Catherine Cortez Masto, he sees confirmation that his party is on the right track and also that voters ultimately don’t feel like extremist, Trump-backed candidates.
Biden responds to midterm election results: “Clear signal that people want to preserve democracy”
ANALYSIS. Now that the lie no longer pays, Donald Trump’s political death seems near (+)
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