Democrats retained control of the Senate

Democrats retained control of the Senate, an important victory for President Joe Biden and extinguished Republican hopes of the red wave they had hoped for in the run-up to the midterm elections.

Biden said the results gave him optimism about the remainder of his presidential term.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the results a “victory and a testament to the rightness” of the Democrats and their agenda. He accused the Republican Party of stoking fears and increasing disunity on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, Republicans are close to gaining control of the House of Representatives; vote counting continues. As of Saturday evening, Republicans had won 211 seats and Democrats had won 205. They need 218 seats to gain a majority.

“The American people have rejected the anti-democratic, authoritarian, dangerous and divisive direction in which MAGA-Republicans wanted to lead the country,” Schumer said after Sen. Carrine Cortez Masto’s re-election in Nevada gave Democrats control of the Senate.

Democrats currently have 50 seats in the 100-seat Senate, which means Vice President Kamala Harris will cast the deciding vote if necessary.

If Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock (R-Ga.) wins the runoff election, where he is opposed by Republican Herschel Walker, the Democrats would have a 51-vote majority, giving them an additional advantage in passing some legislation that requires a simple majority to approve, rather than the 60 votes needed for most bills.