US Democrats defend a slim majority in the Senate

About the race Parliament is still open

It remains unclear who will have a majority in the House of Representatives in the future. Ahead of the election, a wave of success for Republicans and disaster for Democrats were predicted — and neither happened. The Democrats did much better than expected. Regarding the Republican Party, Biden said they now have to decide “who they are.”

The congressional elections took place last Tuesday. The midterm vote in Biden’s four-year term saw all 435 House seats and about a third of the Senate. In addition, important provinces were occupied in many states.

Voices from Las Vegas

However, vote counting in Nevada was delayed due to the intense race between the two opponents and due to electoral idiosyncrasies. But in the end, Democrat Cortez Masto triumphed over Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, thanks mainly to Las Vegas-area votes, broadcasters unanimously reported. This means that President Biden’s party has already secured a majority in the Senate, even if there is still a race for a seat in the Georgia Senate.

Senate: What happens in the confrontation?

The background is that Democratic Vice President Harris can vote in a bind because she is also the ex officio Speaker of the Senate. This means that if the Republicans win the runoff in Georgia, the Senate will have a power balance of 50-50, as they have in the past two years, but the Democrats will still have a slim majority thanks to Harris.

51 seats can still go out

In Georgia on December 6, there will be a run-off between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, because neither of them got more than 50 percent of the vote on the first try. If the Democrats also win in Georgia, they get 51 Senate seats.

This scenario would be more comfortable for Biden than before. Because the first half of his presidency has shown how difficult it is to govern with a very narrow majority in the Senate. Two of his party mates in particular made life difficult for him there: Senators Joe Manchin and Kirsten Senema blocked various Biden projects.

The role of the US Senate

The Senate is of particular importance in the political power structure of the United States. Important personal details at the federal level—such as ambassadors, cabinet members or federal judges—must be confirmed by the Senate. The appointment of judges is particularly important.

Parliament: the counting is still on

Many of the voting results are still being tallied in the House of Representatives. 218 seats are required for a majority in the Council. With votes counted so far, Republicans have 211 seats and Democrats to 204 Saturday night (local time), and there’s also the race much closer than expected before the election.