Democrats will maintain control of the United States Senate, according to projections this Saturday that give them victory in the state of Nevada in the midterm elections.

Estimates by the US channel CBS, a BBC partner, reveal that Senator Catherine Cortez Masto will keep her seat after beating Republican candidate Adam Laxalt.

This Democratic victory follows the showing in Arizona in which Democrat Mark Kelly defeated his Republican opponent Blake Masters.

The result means Democrats will now have 50 Senate seats and Republicans 49.

It remains to be seen who will win the seat in Georgia, where a second round will be held on December 6, after neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

Meanwhile, the Republicans seem to be getting closer to the majority in the House of Representatives.

Who is Catherine Cortez Masto?

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, 58, is a reserved figure on the campaign trail and at work.

Even her supporters admit that some voters don’t know her full name and instead simply call her “the senator.”

His father, Manny, was a Nevada politician who made his way working in a parking lot, later becoming a lawyer and later president of the powerful government agency that promotes the state’s largest tourism industry.

She lost 16 of Nevada’s 17 counties, but dominated in Clark County, where more than 70% of the state’s population lives, including the utility workers who keep the lights on in Las Vegas.

She was outspoken in favor of legalized abortion and gun control . She voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection following the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.

Latinos are historically a Democratic-leaning bloc and Donald Trump’s immigration platform particularly encouraged them to vote against the Republicans in that election.

What happened in Arizona?

Democrat Mark Kelly defeated his Republican opponent Blake Masters on Friday for a Senate seat in the state of Arizona in the US midterm elections.

Kelly, a former astronaut whose wife, Gabby Giffords, survived an assassination attempt when she was a US lawmaker, was first elected two years ago to serve out the remainder of the late John McCain’s term in the Senate.

In a statement, Kelly said, “From day one, this campaign has been focused on the many Arizonans, Democrats, independents and Republicans, who believe in working together to address the important challenges we face.”

“That is exactly what I have done in my first two years in office and what I will continue to do while I am there.”

The result is another blow to Republicans, who had been hoping for a “red wave,” an electoral defeat that would deliver a harsh rebuke to President Joe Biden and the Democrats.

Context

The midterm elections are for Congress, which is made up of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Congress makes laws at the national level. The House decides which laws are voted on, while the Senate can block or pass them, confirm appointments made by the president, and, on rare occasions, conduct investigations against him.

These elections are held every two years, when they fall in the middle of the president’s four-year term.

Each state has two senators, who serve for six-year terms. Representatives hold office for two years and represent smaller districts.

All seats in the House of Representatives were up for election in the midterm elections, along with a third of the Senate.

Several major states also held elections to choose their governor and local officials.