A win in Nevada would give Democrats a 50th Senate seat and allow them to retain control in the chamber, while a Republican victory would mean control would hinge on the outcome of the Georgia runoff election.
In a race that could determine which party controls the Senate, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt’s lead over Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) has shrunk to fewer than 900 votes, with tens of thousands of votes still being counted in Clark County, Nevada’s most populous and a heavily Democratic area, officials there said.
“We’re doing everything in our power to move ballots forward just as quickly as we can,” Joe Gloria, the registrar in Clark County, said during a news conference Friday afternoon. Mail-in ballots were still being collected on Saturday and voters have until 5 p.m. Monday to fix ballots with problems such as a missing signature, he said.
A win in Nevada would give Democrats a 50th Senate seat and allow them to retain control in the chamber, as Vice President Harris is empowered to cast tiebreaking votes.
If Republicans win the Nevada seat, control of the Senate would come down to the results of the runoff election in Georgia on Dec. 6. Democratic control of the Senate would block a full GOP takeover on Capitol Hill, giving Democrats power in the chamber that controls the confirmation of executive branch personnel and federal judges.
According to the Associated Press, only a small number of ballots are left to be counted in rural Nevada, with most of the remaining uncounted ballots in Clark County, home to Las Vegas, and Washoe County, which includes Reno.
