Why the AP called control of the US Senate for the Democrats
A batch of newly counted ballots from the Las Vegas area effectively handed Democrats control of the Senate late Saturday by tilting the Nevada race in favor of incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Democrats held control of the Senate on Saturday after The Associated Press declared Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto the winner in the Nevada Senate race.
Her victory over Republican Adam Laxalt meant Democrats would hold onto a narrow lead in the chamber, controlling at least 50 seats and with the vice president’s tiebreaking vote, the majority.
Cortez Masto got a 5,000-vote lead over Laxalt after Las Vegas’ Clark County gave an updated vote count late Saturday, and even with some votes from rural counties left to count, her advantage would hold, The Associated Press determined.
Since Election Day, Nevada continued to count mail ballots that primarily benefited the senator. She won updates in Clark County, the state's biggest, and with a new batch of counted votes on Saturday, she went from nearly 900 votes behind to about 5,000 votes ahead. Laxalt saw his lead of some 19,000 votes after election night dwindle to nearly 900 on Saturday before the latest votes were released.
The AP determined that the incumbent's advantage would hold, even though rural counties are likely to produce votes that favor Laxalt. The AP determined Cotez Masto's lead would carry through additional updates in Reno's Washoe County as well as among provisional and “cured” ballots, or those with signature or date issues.
Just a day before Cortez Masto was declared the winner in Nevada, AP called another race for another Democratic incumbent, Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Those two wins were what Democrats needed to keep the slimmest of margins in the chamber.
___
AP journalist Mike Catalini can be reached at https://twitter.com/mikecatalini
___
Check out https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the 2022 midterm elections. Follow AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.