Deputies retain their majority in the Senate, as the pressure of the Republican Party in the Netherlands weakens

(AP) — Democrats retained control of the Senate on Saturday, fending off Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it more difficult for them to obstruct the president Joe Biden agenda. The fate of the House of Representatives was still uncertain as the Republican Party struggled to muster a slim majority here.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masta a win in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to retain the Senate. Her victory reflects the amazing strength of Democrats in the US election year. Seeking re-election in an economically troubled state with some of the highest gas prices in the country, Cortez Masta was seen as the most vulnerable member of the Senate, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were confident she could be defeated.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared victory Saturday night, tweeting, “Your Democratic majority in the Senate!”

With the results of Art Nevada Now settled, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still vying for a Senate seat. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock faces Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff. Alaska’s Senate race has moved to a ranked-choice vote, though the seat will remain in Republican hands.

Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Biden’s Cabinet appointments and judicial selections, including for potential Supreme Court openings. The party would also retain control of the committees and would have the power to investigate or oversee the Biden administration, and would be able to veto legislation sent by the House if the GOP wins that chamber.

If the Democrats manage to win the House of Representatives, it will mean total control Congress for Democrats — and another chance to advance Biden’s priorities, which he says include codifying abortion rights. The party is still short of the 60 votes in the Senate needed to pass many major changes to the legislation.

The Senate race hinged on a few hotly contested seats. Both parties spent tens of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, key battleground states where Democrats hoped the Republican decision to nominate unproven candidates — many of whom are backed by former President Donald Trump — would help them weather national headwinds.

Democrats won big in Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated famed heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Trump, took the seat now held by a Republican. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly won re-election by about 5 percentage points.

A closely divided swing state, Nevada is one of the most racially diverse in the nation, a working-class state whose residents have been hit particularly hard by inflation and other economic shocks. About three-quarters of Nevada voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction, and about half named the economy the most important issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a poll of 2,100 state voters.

Ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans have steadily focused on the economy, which has become a top concern for many voters amid persistent inflation and high gas and food prices. The GOP also hit Democrats on crime, a message that sometimes overstated the threat but nonetheless raised alarm, especially among suburban voters who turned away from the party in 2018 and 2020. And they highlighted illegal border crossings, accusing Biden and other Democrats of failing to protect the country.

But Democrats were supported by voters angered by the Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy after the January 6, 2021 uprising at the US Capitol and Trump’s false claims, repeated by many Republican candidates, that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Nationally, VoteCast found that 7 in 10 voters said the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed that the reversal was generally unpopular. And roughly 6 in 10 said they favor legislation that would guarantee access to legal abortions nationwide.

Half of voters said inflation had a significant impact on their vote, while 44% said the future of democracy was their top consideration.

In addition to Congress, Democrats won key gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020. However, Republicans held the governorships in Florida, Texas and Georgia, another state Biden won two years ago.

Although the midterm elections did not produce a Republican upset, Trump remains a major factor in the national party and plans to announce his third bid for the presidency on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida – setting up a potential match- rematch for the White House with Biden.