Democrats will have continued control of the Senate, the Fox News Decision Desk can project.
Democrats will maintain power in the Senate thanks to Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto being declared the winner in Nevada on Saturday night in her race against Republican challenger Adam Laxalt.
Democrats now hold 50 seats compared to the 49 seats held by Republicans with one seat yet to be decided in Georgia where a runoff election will be held between Republican Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock on December 6th.
Even if Walker were to win in Georgia, Democrats would still have control with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.
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The U.S. Capitol Building is seen on September 27, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Voters across the country have delivered a resounding endorsement of Democrats’ Senate majority,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Gary Peters said in a statement. “These historic results in race after race speak for themselves, and they reflect the strength of our candidates, the popularity of Senate Democrats’ message to the American people, and a rejection of the extremism espoused by the GOP. Now our work continues in Georgia to ensure Herschel Walker is defeated and Rev. Warnock is re-elected.”
Prior to Tuesday’s nationwide midterm elections, Democrats held a razor-thin majority in the upper chamber of Congress with 50 seats in their party’s control. Because Vice President Kamala Harris has the ability to cast tie-breaking votes, Democrats only needed 50 seats to keep control.
Prior to 2021, the last time Democrats controlled the Senate was from January 2013 to January 2015 during the 113th Congress.
In this year’s midterm elections, Republicans were forced to defend 21 seats, while Democrats had to defend just 14. Three of the four closest Senate races this cycle featured a Democrat incumbent.
Throughout their campaigns, Republican candidates focused their messaging around issues that they believed voters care most about, including rising crime, out of control inflation, and the southern border crisis.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks during a news conference following the weekly Republican caucus luncheon on Sept. 28, 2022.
(Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Democrats, however, focused on protections for abortion after the Supreme Court’s summer ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. The party also focused on voting rights and election deniers, with President Joe Biden declaring just before the elections that “MAGA Republicans” who promoted former President Trump’s “Big Lie” about the 2020 election and engaged in voter intimidation are a “threat” to democracy.
The Senate consists of 100 lawmakers serving six-year terms; every election year about one-third of Senate seats are up for grabs.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference following the weekly Democratic caucus luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.
(Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Prior to Tuesday’s elections, the Fox News’ Power Rankings showed 47 seats going to the Democrats and 49 to the Republicans, leaving four crucial toss-up races to decide control of the Senate: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The new Congress will officially be sworn into office in January.
Republicans are still hoping to take back control of the House of Representatives and appear on track to do so needing to win 7 races out of the two dozen congressional races across the country that are still outstanding.
So far, after Tuesday’s midterm elections results, Republicans have secured 211 seats of the chamber’s 435 members — just shy of a 218-member majority.
Fox News’ Sophia Slacik contributed to this article.
