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WASHINGTON. – Republicans yesterday edged closer to securing a majority in the US House of Representatives while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races, two days after Democrats staved off an anticipated “red wave” of Republican gains in midterm elections.
Republicans have captured at least 210 House seats, Edison Research projected, eight short of the 218 needed to wrest the House away from Democrats and effectively halt President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
While Republicans remain favoured, there were 33 House contests yet to be decided –including 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan forecasters – likely ensuring the final outcome will not be determined for some time.
The fate of the Senate was far less certain. Either party could seize control by winning too-close-to-call races in Nevada and Arizona, where officials are tallying thousands of uncounted ballots.
The party in power historically suffers heavy casualties in a president’s first midterm election and Tuesday’s results suggested voters were punishing Biden for the steepest inflation in 40 years.
But Democrats were able to avoid the major defeat that Republicans had anticipated and were holding on in the close Senate battles in Nevada and Arizona.
Tuesday’s results also suggested voters were lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and to cast doubt on the nation’s vote-counting process.
Biden had framed the election as a test of US democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
A split in the Senate vote would mean the majority would come down to a runoff election in Georgia for the second time in two years.
Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker both failed to reach 50 percent, forcing them into a one-on-one battle on December 6.
Even a slim House majority would allow Republicans to shape the rest of Biden’s term, blocking priorities such as abortion rights and launching investigations into his administration and family.
Biden, who travelled to Egypt yesterday for the COP27 UN climate change summit, acknowledged that reality on Wednesday, saying he was prepared to work with Republicans. – Reuters
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