PHOENIX, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Democrats retained control of the U.S. Senate while limiting projected losses in the House, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden and extinguishing hopes of a “red tide” that Republicans waited for the midterm elections. .
Democratic leaders described the result – sealed Saturday afternoon with a win for the incumbent senator in Nevada – as a vindication of their agenda and a rebuke of Republican candidates, many of whom had repeated the former president’s false claims Donald Trump on widespread election fraud.
“We were on the brink of autocracy, and thank God the American people pulled us back in this election,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference on Sunday.
The better-than-expected performance gave Biden, who has struggled with low approval ratings ahead of Tuesday’s election amid persistently high inflation, a political boost ahead of what are expected to be talks intense on a series of geopolitical issues with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Monday in Indonesia.
Republicans, however, remained close to seizing control of the House of Representatives as officials continued to count ballots, with returns still flowing in for several races, including many in liberal-leaning California.
As of Saturday afternoon, Republicans had won 211 seats and Democrats 205, with 218 needed for a majority. It could be several days before the results of enough House races are known to determine which party will control the 435-seat chamber.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 82, told ABC News and CNN that she would not make an announcement about whether she plans to remain in the House leadership until control of the chamber is decided. There had been speculation that she would resign if the Democrats lost their majority, especially after her husband was attacked by an intruder at their home in San Francisco last month.
House Republicans, if prevailed, have vowed to try to roll back legislation led by Biden to fight climate change and want to make permanent a series of expiring 2017 tax cuts. They have also promised investigations into the activities of the Biden administration and probes into the president’s son, who has had business dealings with Ukraine and China.
Jim Banks, a Republican congressman from Indiana, said Sunday he hoped his party would win a small majority in the House and serve as “the last line of defense to block Biden’s agenda” as he launched investigations into the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. , the origin of the confinement of the COVID and the pandemic.
“This has to be a central point of every congressional committee, especially in the Republican-controlled House,” Banks said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
FOCUSING ON GEORGIA
Democrats will control the Senate, as they have for the past two years, with 50 of its 100 seats, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
Her majority was won by Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who narrowly defeated Republican Adam Laxalt.
“When the national pundits said I couldn’t win, I knew Nevada was going to prove them wrong,” Cortez Masto said in a victory speech Sunday morning.
For the Senate, attention will now shift to Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker face off in a runoff on Dec. 6. If Warnock were to win, the Democrats’ 51-49 majority would give them an additional advantage. by passing the few bills that can move forward with a simple majority, rather than the 60 required for most legislation.
The 2022 midterm elections have been all year for Trump, who used his continued popularity among far-right conservatives to influence the candidates the Republican Party nominated for races in Congress, Gov. and local
With Republicans performing poorly, even if they win a narrow majority in the House, Trump has been blamed for pushing candidates who failed to appeal to a broad enough electorate.
A Republican loss in Georgia could further dent Trump’s popularity as advisers say he is considering announcing a third run for the presidency in 2024 this week.
The result may increase the chances that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who defeated his Democratic opponent on Tuesday, will choose to challenge Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Democrats had portrayed Republicans as extremists, pointing to the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate abortion rights nationwide and the hundreds of Republican candidates who promoted Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election they were fraudulent.
Pelosi credited her party’s performance to Democratic candidates who know their districts and stay focused on issues voters care about, even as pundits in Washington predicted heavy losses and called for a change in focus.
“They knew the value of a woman’s right to choose. They knew how important it was to protect our democracy. They knew the contrast between them and their opponents,” Pelosi told ABC.
Continued control of the Senate means Democrats will still be able to approve Biden’s nominees, such as federal judges. That would include Supreme Court appointees if vacancies open in the next two years on the bench with a 6-3 conservative majority.
Reporting by Tim Reid in Phoenix and Kanishka Singh, Richard Cowan and Jason Lange and Joel Schectman in Washington; Written by Kanishka Singh and Nathan Layne; Editing by William Mallard and Bill Berkrot
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