Democrats Maintain Control of Senate After Masto Wins Nevada

The Democratic Party will maintain a majority in the Senate. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt to give the Democrats the needed 50 seats for a majority.

Key Quotes: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted “the American people rejected the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty, and divisive direction the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country.” President Joe Biden, who is currently in Cambodia to attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, told reporters, “congratulations to Senator Schumer. He's got a majority again.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tweeted, “the old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new.”

For Context: There is still one seat up for grabs in Georgia, where incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and challenger Herschel Walker (R) are headed for a runoff election on Dec. 6. If Warnock wins, the Democratic majority will increase to 51 seats. If Republicans win, the Senate will again be split 50-50, and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) will be the tie-breaking vote.

How the Media Covered It: Election coverage has dominated headlines across the spectrum all week. Coverage is framing the Democrats retaining control of the Senate as a large upset, with more coverage focusing on the Republican’s defeat than the Democrat’s victory. NewsWeek stated it “defied historic odds.” Breitbart News and CNN both called Masto, whose victory clinched the Senate, “one of the most vulnerable” incumbent Senators in the nation.