The closely watched race for a U.S. Senate seat representing Nevada is neck and neck as votes continue to be counted, with Republican Adam Laxalt’s lead narrowing to just 862 votes with the latest update.
Only two Senate races are yet to be called. Republicans and Democrats both have 49 seats after the Arizona race was called for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) overnight.
Republicans need to win Nevada to have a chance at control of the Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties as president of the body. If Republicans win Nevada, they'd also have to win the Senate runoff in Georgia scheduled next month. If Democrats win either, they will retain control of the upper chamber.
Laxalt, 44, Nevada’s former attorney general and an Iraq War veteran said the mail-in ballots are trending for his opponent.
“Here is where we are — we are up only 862 votes. Multiple days in a row, the mostly mail in ballots counted continue to break in higher DEM margins than we calculated. This has narrowed our victory window,” he said in a statement.
The race will come down to 20,000 to 30,000 ballots that were dropped off on election day in Clark County, Laxalt predicted.
“If they are GOP precincts or slightly DEM leaning then we can still win. If they continue to trend heavy DEM then she will overtake us. Thanks for all the prayers from millions of Nevadans and Americans who hope we can still take back the Senate and start taking our country back,” he said.
Cortez Masto, 58, another former Nevada attorney general and a first-term senator, has said she’s confident she will ultimately prevail.
Under Nevada law, mail-in votes are counted provided they’re postmarked by or on the day of the election and received by the election clerk no later than 5 p.m. on the fourth day after the election.
Voters also have six days after the election to “cure” a mail-in ballot, or fix an issue with the signature verification.
Thousands of ballots in Clark County alone were eligible to be cured, Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria said on Nov. 11.
“It appears we will fall a percentage point or so short of winning,” Sisolak said in a statement. “That is why I reached out to the sheriff to wish him success.”
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, won reelection over Republican challenger Sigal Chattah, while Democrat Cisco Aguilar, an attorney, succeeded in his bid for Nevada secretary of state.
Aguilar beat Republican Jim Marchant, a former state assemblyman.
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