PHOENIX: All eyes in the political world were trained on Friday (Nov 11) on Arizona and Nevada, where hundreds of thousands of uncounted votes held the key to control of the US Senate three days after Americans cast their final ballots in midterm elections.
Either Democrats or Republicans can capture a Senate majority by sweeping the contests in both states. A split, however, would transform a Dec 6 runoff Senate election in Georgia into a proxy battle for the chamber, which among other powers holds sway over President Joe Biden’s judicial appointments.
Meanwhile, Republicans were slowly inching closer to wresting control of the House of Representatives from Biden’s Democrats, which would effectively give them veto power over his legislative agenda and allow them to launch a bevvy of investigations into his administration.
Republicans had secured at least 211 of the 218 House seats they need for a majority, Edison Research projected late on Thursday, while Democrats had won 197. That left 27 races yet to be determined, including a number of close contests.
The Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans take over, an outcome he described as inevitable on Wednesday.
Biden told reporters on Thursday he and McCarthy had spoken but said he had not yet abandoned hope that Democrats could still prevail in the House, despite the tough odds.
“It’s still alive,” he said of their chances.
The outcome of the Arizona and Nevada Senate races, where Democratic incumbents were trying to fend off Republican challengers, may not be known for days yet. Officials in both states have said it could take until next week to finish tallying uncounted mail ballots.
Tuesday’s results fell far short of the sweeping “red wave” that Republicans had expected, despite Biden’s anaemic approval ratings and deep voter frustration over near-unprecedented inflation.
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