OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A critical Senate race was called Saturday evening in Nevada, which has determined the party that will control the chamber.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto managed to eke out a victory over GOP challenger Adam Laxalt, handing her party 50 seats again, enough to maintain control.
Her victory “means that the Georgia Senate runoff election next month will merely determine the margin that Democrats have in the chamber, not its balance of power. It ensures that President Joe Biden will have one chamber of Congress in his corner when the lawmakers take the oath of office next year,” Politico reported.
“The outcome in Nevada came after several suspenseful days of vote counting that favored Cortez Masto and eventually put her over the top. Her win delivered a one-two punch for Democrats in Arizona and Nevada, a pair of battleground states that Republicans had high hopes of flipping,” the report continued.
Republicans remain favored to take the House, however, albeit by a much smaller margin than the party had hoped and that reflected historical trends when the party in the White House typically loses a fair amount of seats in Congress.
Politico added:
During a victory speech Saturday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cited candidate quality, Democratic legislative accomplishments of the past two years and “anti-Democratic, extremist MAGA Republicans” as the primary reasons his party clinched the chamber. The New York Democrat spoke about the next Congress in broad strokes, but said that the Senate is “now a firewall against a nationwide abortion ban threat that so many Republicans have talked about.”
Some Republicans have already begun pointing fingers at the party’s leadership after a dismal performance during a midterm election cycle that saw Biden with low approval ratings and key issues like the economy, inflation, a chaotic southwestern border, and a deadly, panicked withdrawal from Afghanistan working against him and his party, Politico noted.
A letter asking to postpone leadership elections was circulated among members by some high-profile lawmakers, including Sens. Ron Johnson, Mike Lee and Rick Scott, Politico reported separately.
“We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to why and what we can do to improve our chances in 2024,” they said. “Holding leadership elections without hearing from the candidates as to how they will perform their leadership duties and before we know whether we will be in the majority or even who all our members are violates the most basic principles of a democratic process. It is certainly not the way leadership elections should be conducted in the world’s greatest deliberative body.”
It could also mean that Sen. McConnell (R-Ky.) may not remain as the Senate Majority Leader.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also called for the leadership elections to be postponed.
“The Senate GOP leadership vote next week should be postponed First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida,” he tweeted.
The Senate GOP leadership vote next week should be postponed
First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 11, 2022
Conservative pundit and Fox News host Mark Levin also lashed out at McConnell for appearing to work against candidates backed by former President Donald Trump because of the feud between the two men.
“How much did McConnell spend in Colorado on his favorite candidate? Millions. He was blown away. How much did he spend on smearing the conservative in Alaska? Millions. How much did he spend on the Arizona Senate race. Nothing,” Levin tweeted in response to a post from fellow Fox News personality and political analyst Brit Hume, who defended McConnell.
1. No, spot off. How much did McConnell spend in Colorado on his favorite candidate? Millions. He was blown away. How much did he spend on smearing the conservative in Alaska? Millions. How much did he spend on the Arizona Senate race. Nothing. https://t.co/yIgCOkq57n
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 12, 2022
“How much did he pull out of the NH Senate race in the final week? Nearly $6 million. You guys seem to think if only McConnell could have picked more establishment candidates these Democrat incumbents would’ve been defeated. You’ve no evidence for that at all,” Levin continued.
“The GOP establishment hates the base. Even before Trump, it hated the Tea Party Get your facts straight,” he added.
3. The GOP establishment hates the base. Even before Trump, it hated the Tea Party Get your facts straight.
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 12, 2022
