Defying history, Democrats keep Senate in win for US President Joe Biden

Democrats defied political forecasts and historical trends to keep control of the Senate in a win for President Joe Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as voters rejected a handful of candidates backed by former President Donald Trump.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto put the Democrats over the top on Saturday after The AP and networks declared her the winner in a closely fought election in Nevada, following fellow incumbent Mark Kelly’s projected win in Arizona and a victory by John Fetterman in Pennsylvania that snared a seat previously held by a retiring Republican. 

Democrats are now poised to hold 50 seats in the 100-member Senate, allowing them to control the agenda with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. Another race, between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker is headed for a runoff next month after neither candidate was able to grab 50 per cent of the vote.

Control of the House is still undecided but Republicans have an edge with 211 seats won of the 218 needed for a majority. Democrats have won 203 seats, and several of them — particularly in the West — are still being counted. Grand Old Party (GOP) control of the House would be enough to snuff out any hopes of Biden delivering on a sweeping legislative agenda over the next two years. 

By retaining their Senate majority, Democrats can act as a bulwark against GOP attempts to roll back Biden’s initiatives from the past two years. They’ll also be able to stop Republicans from enacting their own tax and regulation initiatives ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Democratic Senate control also keeps the path clear to confirm Biden’s picks for federal agencies and the judiciary, including any potential Supreme Court nominations. 

The House GOP has pledged to use its power to roll back Biden’s domestic spending and a beefed-up IRS while pursuing an increase in border security. 

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who aims to become speaker, has said he plans to use the debt limit as leverage to extract spending cuts, as his party did in 2011.  Democrats, though, have the ability to raise the borrowing cap before the new Congress is sworn in if they stay united. 

If Warnock wins the Georgia runoff, that 51st seat would be a significant boost to the party, particularly when it comes to moving Biden’s nominees for top executive branch posts and judicial vacancies.