Democrats kept control of the US Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The outcome of the midterm elections in the House of Representatives was still uncertain as the Republicans struggled to pull together a slim majority there.
Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada gave the Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the 100-member Senate.
Her win reflects the surprising strength of Democrats across the US in the election. Seeking re-election in an economically challenged state that has some of the highest fuel prices in the nation, Ms Cortez Masto was considered the Senate’s most vulnerable member, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were confident she could be defeated.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a Democrat rally in Washington, as President Joe Biden and their spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff listen. Bloomberg -
Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, speaks at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Former astronaut and Democratic candidate Mark Kelly defeated his Republican rival in Arizona's senate race. Reuters -
Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer, left, opens mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Ballots were being counted in Maricopa County three days after voters went to the polls for the midterm election in Arizona. AFP -
Election workers open mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
Staff scan ballots for the US midterm elections at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Reuters -
Election workers open mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
In a divided America, a political campaign sign sits abandoned at the roadside in Phoenix, Arizona, two days after the midterms. AFP -
Ballots are processed in Las Vegas. Getty Images -
Election officials give a press conference in Maricopa County, Arizona, where ballots were still being counted two days after the midterms. AFP -
Ballots are carried to be scanned in Philadelphia. Reuters -
Mr Biden was all smiles during a news conference in the White House. Bloomberg -
An election worker sorts ballots in Las Vegas. AFP -
Election workers sort ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre. AFP -
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger holds a news conference in Atlanta. AP -
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso gets a hug on stage at his election night headquarters in Los Angeles. AP -
Paul Riley, father of Josh Riley, bows his head as election results come in at his son's election party in Binghamton, New York. Josh Riley, the Democratic candidate, ran against Republican Marc Molinaro. AP -
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks during election night in Detroit. AP -
Supporters cheer during an election night event for Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr Fetterman defeated Republican Senate candidate Dr Mehmet Oz. AFP -
Supporters watch news of a projected victory for Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Reuters -
Republican J D Vance arrives with his wife Usha to declare victory in the Senatorial race in Columbus, Ohio. Reuters -
New York Governor Kathy Hochul attends an event to celebrate her victory in the US midterm elections. Reuters -
Representative Abigail Spanberger, of the Democratic party, speaks to supporters after her re-election, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. AP -
Democrat Wes Moore, second from left, hugs his daughter, Mia, centre, as his mother, Joy Thomas Moore, left, son, Jamie, second from right, and wife, Dawn, look on, after he was declared the winner of the Maryland race for governor. AP -
A supporter of Republican candidate Lee Zeldin reacts as media outlets predict results, in the race for governor, in favour of Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. AP -
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt celebrates his re-election, at a Republican Party watch party in Oklahoma City. AP -
Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams speaks during her 2022 US midterm elections night party in Atlanta, Georgia. Her rival Brian Kemp won. Reuters -
A woman arrives before Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters during an election night party in Tampa. AP -
Voters wait in line at a polling station at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas. AP -
A voter goes to cast their vote after filling out their ballot at a polling station inside The Shed arts centre in Manhattan. AP -
A jogger runs past the Capitol Building in Washington. The US midterm elections are held every four years at the midpoint of each presidential term. EPA -
Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis waves from the stage next to his wife Casey and children during his midterm elections party in Tampa. Reuters -
A man in costume arrives for a Republican party 'Save America' rally before the US midterm elections, in Miami, Florida. AFP -
US President Joe Biden, centre, poses for a selfie with supporters during a rally for Democratic candidates, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. AFP -
A man marks his ballot during early voting in Lansing, Michigan. Reuters -
A child attends a rally held by US President Joe Biden with Democratic nominee for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Senator Chris Van Hollen and other Maryland Democrats, at Bowie State University. Reuters -
Supporters cheer during a rally for Democratic candidates at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. AFP -
State Representative Leslie Rossi poses by a giant cutout of former US President Donald Trump in front of the "Trump House", which she owns and created in 2016, in Youngstown, Pennsylvania. AFP -
Republican candidate for US Senate for Arizona Blake Masters speaks at a rally in Queen Creek, Arizona. EPA -
People in the crowd cheer during a campaign rally at Bowie State University in Maryland, which was attended President Joe Biden, the first lady, Jill Biden, Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore and Senator Chris Van Hollen. AP -
Republican candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake arrives for a campaign stop, in Phoenix. Reuters -
Morgan Koetje and Nickolas Lentz from Reproductive Freedom for All, canvass a neighborhood in support of Proposal 3, a ballot measure that would codify the right to an abortion, one day before the midterm election in Dewitt, Michigan. Reuters -
Republican candidate for US Senate Herschel Walker takes a picture with supporters in Kennesaw, Georgia during a "Unite Georgia Bus Stop" campaign rally on the eve of the midterm elections. AFP -
Republican Senate candidate Val Demings speaks to supporters in Wilton Manors, Florida. AP -
Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz addresses campaign rally in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. AP -
Former president Donald Trump speaks at a rally in support of the campaign of Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance, at Dayton International Airport. AP -
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive for the rally at Bowie State University, in Maryland. AP -
Voters pass by a sign outside a polling site in Warwick, Rhode Island after casting their ballots on the last day of early voting before the midterm election. AP -
Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams speaks to volunteers during an election eve phone and text bank party in Atlanta. AP -
US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, points to Los Angeles mayoral candidate Representative Karen Bass, after speaking at a rally in Los Angeles. AP
“We got a lot done and we’ll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said. “The American people rejected — soundly rejected — the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country.”
With the results in Nevada now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock faces Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a December 6 run-off. Alaska’s Senate race has advanced to ranked choice voting, though the seat will stay in Republican hands.
Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Mr Biden’s Cabinet appointments and judicial selections, including those for potential Supreme Court openings. The party will also keep control over committees and have the power to conduct investigations or oversight of the Biden administration, and will be able to reject legislation sent over by the House if the Republicans win that chamber.
If Democrats manage to pull off a win in the House, it would mean full control of Congress for the party — and another chance to advance Mr Biden’s priorities, which he has said include codifying abortion rights. The party still lacks the 60 votes in the Senate needed to move many major legislative changes.
The Senate fight had hinged on a handful of deeply contested seats. Both parties spent tens of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, the top battlegrounds where Democrats had hoped that the Republicans’ decision to nominate untested candidates — many backed by former president Donald Trump — would help them defy national headwinds.
Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, where Lt Gov John Fetterman defeated celebrity heart surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Mr Trump, to pick up a seat currently held by a Republican. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly won re-election by about 5 percentage points.
A closely divided swing state, Nevada is one of the most racially diverse in the nation, a working-class state whose residents have been especially hard-hit by inflation and other economic turmoil. About three quarters of Nevada voters said the country was headed in the wrong direction, and about half called the economy the most important issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 2,100 of the state’s voters.
Heading into the midterm election, Republicans focused relentlessly on the economy, a top concern for many voters amid stubborn inflation and high fuel and food prices. The Republican party also attacked the Democrats on crime, a message that sometimes overstated the threat but nonetheless tapped into anxiety, particularly among the suburban voters who turned away from the party in 2018 and 2020. And they highlighted illegal border crossings, accusing Mr Biden and other Democrats of failing to protect the country.
Democrat Senate majority leader
But Democrats were buoyed by voters angry about the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy, following the January 6 riot at the US Capitol and Mr Trump’s false claims — repeated by many party candidates — that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Mr Schumer said Democratic candidates’ promises to defend abortion rights resonated with voters. He said the election results made him feel good about the country and its commitment to democracy.
“We knew that the negativity, the nastiness, the condoning of Donald Trump’s big lie — and saying that the elections were rigged when there’s no proof of that at all — would hurt Republicans, not help them,” he said. “But too many of them, and their candidates, fell into those traps.”
Referring to Mr Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, Mr Schumer said voters had rejected “extremist MAGA Republicans”.
Nationally, VoteCast showed that seven out of 10 voters said the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. And roughly six out of 10 said they favoured a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.
Half of voters said inflation factored significantly in their vote, while 44 per cent said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.
Beyond Congress, Democrats won key governors’ races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Mr Biden’s 2020 win over Mr Trump. Republicans, though, held the governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia — another battleground state Mr Biden narrowly won two years ago.
Although the midterms failed to deliver Republican romps, Mr Trump remains a major factor in the party and plans to announce his third run for the presidency on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — setting up a potential rematch for the White House with Mr Biden.
