Adam Laxalt, a candidate for the Nevada Senate, acknowledged that his margin of victory had shrunk as of Saturday morning after the most recent polling data had put incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) within striking distance.
With 95% of the votes counted, Laxalt, who had a sizable lead on election day, is now only 862 votes ahead of Cortez Masto. This means that the outcome will depend on the final 20,000 to 30,000 ballots that are being counted in Clark County.
Laxalt tweeted on Saturday, “Here is where we stand – we are up only 862 votes.” “The largely mail-in votes that have been counted continue to show greater Democrat margins than we predicted on multiple days in a row. As a result, our window of victory has shrunk. 20–30K Clark drop-off ballots on Election Day will determine the winner. We can still prevail even in GOP or somewhat Democratic leaning precincts. She will surpass us if they keep trending heavily toward DEM.
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. The race will come down to 20-30K Election Day Clark drop off ballots.
— Adam Paul Laxalt (@AdamLaxalt) November 12, 2022
According to the Associated Press, the two front-runners are tied with Laxalt just ahead with 48.5% to Cortez Masto’s 48.4%. Barry Lindemann, who did not specify a party preference, received 0.8% of the vote, while candidate Neil Scott, a member of the Libertarian Party, received 0.6%.
Republicans need to win Nevada’s Senate race badly if they want to take control of both houses of Congress after the midterm elections. As of Saturday, Republicans were two seats and seven seats respectively short of a majority in the Senate and the House. Republicans would need to win both of the remaining two Senate elections in Georgia and Nevada, though, in order to take control of the chamber.
Arizona, another close Senate race, was declared Friday in favor of Sen. Mark Kelly, the incumbent (D-AZ). However, while the votes are still being tabulated, Republican rival Blake Masters has not given up the race.
If Laxalt prevails in Nevada, a runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Republican candidate and former NFL player Herschel Walker would take place in Georgia on December 6 to determine who will control the Senate.
