Democratic United States Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was on course to winning the Nevada seat on Saturday, Reuters reported. The win would allow the Democrats to retain control of the Senate.

Election research agency Edison Research predicted that Masto would narrowly defeat Republican candidate and former state attorney general Adam Laxalt.

Masto’s victory was projected a day after Democratic Senator Mark Kelly was projected to win the election from Arizona. With the two wins, the Democrats will hold at least 50 seats in the 100-member Senate, which is the upper chamber of the United States Congress.

The Republican party also holds 50 seats in the Senate, but Vice President Kamala Harris can cast her vote in case of a tie.

Democrat control of the Senate would mean a smoother process for appointing candidates for the Cabinet and the judiciary. The Senate will also be able to reject legislation passed in the House if the Republicans wins there. The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that voters soundly rejected the “anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive” approach of the Republicans, the Associated Press reported.

Georgia is now the only state where Democrats and Republicans are competing for a Senate seat. The incumbent, Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, faces Republican leader Herschel Walker.

Commenting on the results on Saturday, President Joe Biden said: “I feel good. I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.”

He added that winning the Georgia seat would help the Democrats boost their standing on Senate committees, according to AP. “It’s just simply better,” the president said. “The bigger the number, the better.”

The midterm polls

Midterm elections in the United States were held on November 8. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate were in the fray in the polls.

Members of the House represent local populations and Senators represent the states in the US.

Midterm elections are held in the middle of the four-year tenure of a United States president. Historically, the party in power ends up losing the midterm polls. Moreover, with high inflation rates in the country and Biden’s low approval ratings in the run-up to the elections, Republicans had hinged their hopes to gain the majority in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate.