Incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has won reelection in Nevada, giving Democrats 50 seats in the U.S. Senate and control of the chamber for the remaining two years of President Joe Biden’s first term, The Associated Press projects.
Cortez Masto outlasted Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general backed by former President Donald Trump, in a tight race that stretched days after the polls closed on Tuesday.
Cortez Masto, the first Latina in the Senate, was a major target of Republicans hoping to flip the Senate, with some considering her the most vulnerable Democratic senator in the midterms. But despite an influx of spending on attack ads from national GOP groups, Cortez Masto managed to secure her reelection bid.
The win, and subsequent retention of the Senate, delivers yet another blow to Republicans, who saw hopes of a “red wave” sweeping them into control of Congress dashed amid surprising resilience from Democrats. While favored slightly in the House of Representatives by many election prognosticators, it will likely be far from the large majority they had predicted.
Control of the House has not yet been called, with several races still outstanding.
Nevada’s vote count took several days partly because of the mail voting system created by the state Legislature in 2020 that requires counties to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive up to four days later. Laxalt had an early lead that dwindled after late-counted ballots came in from the state’s population centers in Las Vegas and Reno.
Cortez Masto, the state’s former two-term attorney general, focused her Senate campaign on the increasing threat to abortion access nationwide and worked to court the state’s Spanish-speaking residents and hourly wage earners, pointing out her support of a permanent pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” and regularly visiting union halls and workers’ groups.
Her fundraising far outpaced Laxalt’s. She spent nearly $47 million and had more than $6 million in cash on hand through mid-October, according to OpenSecrets. Laxalt spent nearly $13 million and had about $3 million remaining during the same time.
Laxalt, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, focused on rising inflation and a struggling economy for much of his campaign, attempting to tie voters’ financial woes to policies advanced by Democrats in Congress and Biden.
Democrats now hold a 50-49 majority in the Senate, following incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly’s win in Arizona.
There is one Senate race still outstanding — the Georgia runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock and GOP challenger Herschel Walker in December — but regardless of the outcome, Democrats will retain the majority thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.
But Georgia could provide Democrats a crucial 51st vote to potentially overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold on the party’s major agenda items, like abortion rights and access to the ballot box.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference in his home state of New York after the race was called, calling the results “a great win for the American people.”
“This election is a victory, a victory and a vindication for Democrats, our agenda and for the American people,” Schumer said.
“The American people rejected – soundly rejected – the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty, and divisive direction that MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country in,” Schumer said.
Schumer also took time to praise his old mentor, the late Senate Majority Leader and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid: “He may be gone, but he’s still with us. His legacy in Nevada continues to shine as bright as lights on the Vegas strip.
Despite the late hour, other Democrats cheered Cortez Masto’s victory on Saturday night, while urging supporters to keep focused on re-electing Warnock next month.
“Congratulation to @SenCortezMasto and her amazing team,” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter. “This is great news for the country. Great news for our democracy.”
“But…there’s a big difference between 51 and 50. BIG. Let’s keep going and win the Georgia runoff,” Murphy added.
Pennsylvania Sen.-elect John Fetterman also cheered Democrats’ victory, while urging voters in Georgia to back Warnock “so I can *officially* be your 51st vote.”
“My friend, Senator Catherine @CortezMasto is the fighter the incredible state of Nevada needs and deserves,” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker wrote on Twitter. “So thrilled to continue our work to lift up all Americans in the Senate.”
Some Republicans also reacted to the news of losing their bid to control the Senate, with one prominent member of the Senate GOP caucus calling for radical change.
“The old party is dead,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter Saturday night. “Time to bury it. Build something new.”
