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.
Laxalt’s lead over Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), once in the thousands, has dwindled as more votes are counted across the state, primarily in Clark County, where officials still had more than 50,000 ballots left to count earlier Friday.
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 he believes he is going to win before the latest results were posted.
“We are waiting on results tonight and expect her percentages to continue to remain under what she needs,” Laxalt said on Twitter, calling a report that he was going to call for a recount false. “We still remain confident.”
Cortez Masto, 58, another former Nevada attorney general and a first-term senator, has also 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.
Several other Nevada races were called Friday. Republican Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo beat Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat.
“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.
From The Epoch Times
