Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gestures, stepping out of the Senate Chamber, commemorating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act at the US Capitol on Sunday, August 7, 2022 in Washington , DC. t
Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | beautiful pictures
Democrats will hold their razor-thin majority in the US Senate, NBC News predicts, blocking an all-out Republican attempt to capitalize on economic volatility and inequality. public satisfaction to control the upper house of Congress.
The party will hold at least 50 Senate seats in the next Congress, after the incumbents held their ground in key races and Democratic Governor John Fetterman overturned the seat held by the GOP. in Pennsylvania. An unnamed race, where Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia is defending her seat against Republican Herschel Walker, will be decided in a runoff on December 6. Democrats currently control the 50-50 partisan Senate through a breakthrough vote by Vice President Kamala Harris.
While the GOP holds several key advantages over Democrats throughout the cycle, analysts see the battle for the Senate as a virtual confrontation ahead of Election Day. Incumbent Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto both prevailed In their closely contested races, NBC expected after days of counting votes in both states, winning room for the Democratic Party.
In a tweet, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the election result “a victory and vindication for the Democrats.”
Republicans had hoped, and many had publicly predicted, a “red wave” that would remove Democrats from their majority in both branches of the legislature. A change in congressional leadership would threaten the President Joe BidenHis legislative agenda and his ability to push for key nominations during his next two years in office.
But that wave never materialized. The Democratic nominees’ rise and fall on the ballot far exceeded the expectations of many analysts, who predicted that Biden’s unpopularity, coupled with historic election trends and persistently high inflation, could have advantage for the ruling party.
Senate Democrats would instead keep the majority – and possibly even add if Warnock defeats Walker. It provides the party with another check against the GOP if Republicans overturn control of the House.
NBC News is yet to predict control of the House as states continue to count votes in tight races.
NBC estimates Republicans could win 219 seats in the House after all unresolved races are resolved — just enough for a majority — while Democrats could win 216 seats. The prediction has an error of plus or minus four seats.
