Joe Biden speaks to media about the midterm results before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, today (Picture: AFP)
A predicted rout of Democratic candidates in the US midterm elections failed to materialise, with the ruling party maintaining control of the Senate.
President Joe Biden had been braced for big losses, as is often the case for the party in power.
But the ‘red wave’ crashed before reaching shore, with results today showing that the Senate will remain controlled by the Democrats in the best performance of a sitting party in 20 years – though the fate of the House of Representatives is still uncertain.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the Senate for two more years.
Polls had predicted a flood of wins for Republican candidates, with the Democrats potentially losing their slim control of both houses of Congress.
Former president Donald Trump had inserted himself heavily into the election race, endorsing favoured candidates and fuelling rumours he was about to throw his hat into the ring to run for office again.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (L), former US President Barack Obama (C) and US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto pictured on November 1 during a campaign event in Las Vegas (Picture: Getty)
Mr Trump, expected to announce his candidacy on Tuesday, had said before polls closed: ‘If they [Republican candidates] win, I should get all the credit. If they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be the opposite.’
Seeking re-election in an economically challenged state that has some of the highest gas 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.
With the results in Nevada now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat.
Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for President Joe Biden’s Cabinet appointments and judicial picks, 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 GOP wins that chamber.
But the party still lacks the 60 votes in the Senate needed to move many kinds of major legislative changes. The race was close, with the Republicans currently on 49 seats.
If Democrats manage to pull off a win in the House, it would mean full control of Congress for Democrats – and another chance to advance Mr Biden’s priorities, which he has said include codifying abortion rights.
Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, where Governor John Fetterman defeated celebrity heart surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, to pick up a seat currently held by a Republican.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly won re-election by about five percentage points.
Heading into the midterm election, Republicans focused relentlessly on the economy, a top concern for many voters amid stubborn inflation and high gas and food prices.
The GOP also hit 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.
But Democrats were buoyed by voters angry about the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.
They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy, following the January 6 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol and Mr Trump’s false claims – repeated by many GOP candidates – that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Nationally, VoteCast showed that seven in 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 in 10 said they favour a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.
Half of voters said inflation factored significantly in their vote, while 44% said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.
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Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the Senate for two more years.
