Midterms traditionally provide a rejection of the party in power. (file)
Washington:
President Joe Biden’s Democrats retained control of the US Senate on Saturday, a remarkable midterm election result that defied predictions of Republican victories in both houses of Congress.
Midterms traditionally provide a rejection of the party in power, and with inflation rising and Biden’s popularity declining, Republicans were hoping to ride a powerful “red wave” and capture the Senate and House of Representatives.
But the wave never went beyond a wave, and on Saturday the US network called a major Senate race in Nevada for Democrat incumbent Katherine Cortez Masto, giving the party the 50 seats needed for an effective majority.
The victory gives Democratic control of the Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote if the upper house is evenly split 50-50.
A Senate race remains up in the air — a runoff in Georgia is scheduled for December.
The two parties were locked in a 49-49 seat race after Democrat Mark Kelly was projected to win a tight Senate race in Arizona on Friday evening.
The outcome in the House of Representatives also hangs in the balance, and while Republicans favor taking control, it will be with a much smaller majority than anticipated going into Tuesday’s election.
call for unity
In Arizona, Kelly called for unity in a victory speech on Saturday.
“After a long election, it can be tempting to focus on the things that divide us,” he said.
“But we have seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on the conspiracies of the past than on solving the challenges of today.”
The former astronaut defeated challenger Blake Masters, who is yet to give up and was backed by Donald Trump.
The former president was ubiquitous on the campaign trail and the Republicans’ poor national performance was a damaging political blow.
Trump’s response to the Arizona result was to double down on baseless claims of ballot rigging, posting on his Truth Social platform that the Democrat’s victory was the result of a “scam” and “voter fraud.”
Trump is set to announce his 2024 White House bid on Tuesday – an announcement he planned as a triumphant follow-up to the expected crushing election victory by the party he still dominates.
The overwhelming result has prompted internal finger-pointing, with targets including Trump, party leaders and campaign messaging.
US media on Saturday cited a letter circulated by three Republican senators calling for the postponement of party leadership elections currently scheduled for the middle of next week.
“We are all disappointed that the Red Wave has not materialized and there are several reasons why it has not materialised,” the letter said.
It added, “We need to have a serious discussion at our conference about why and what we can do to improve our chances in 2024.”
Some suggest that Trump’s early entry into the presidential race is designed to fend off potential criminal charges arising from the final weeks of his presidency as well as multiple investigations into his business affairs.
On Friday, Trump’s lawyers challenged a subpoena by a congressional committee probing the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
The subpoena sought to question Trump under oath the following week, but lawyers countersued, arguing that he enjoyed “absolute immunity” as president before being forced to testify before Congress.
The lawsuit states that the summons is “void, illegal and unenforceable”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)