The race for the prized Nevada Senate seat has come down to the wire as Republican candidate Adam Laxalt looks to hold on to his waning lead Saturday.
“Here is where we are — we are up only 862 votes,” he said in a Saturday tweet. “The race will come down to 20-30K Election Day Clark drop off ballots.”
Laxalt, who is facing off against incumbent Democrat Sen. Cortez Masto, said the narrow margins were down to mail-in ballots dropped off in Clark County, home to Las Vegas residents, and which were still being tallied.
Nevada Republican Senate nominee Adam Laxalt speaks at a Republican midterm election night party at Red Rock Casino on November 08, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Mario Tama/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATS ONE WIN AWAY FROM KEEPING SENATE
Laxalt acknowledged the tight race and said the mail-in ballots were coming in with higher margins favoring Democrats than his campaign had originally anticipated.
“If they are GOP precincts or slightly DEM leaning then we can still win,” he added. “If they continue to trend heavy DEM then she will overtake us.
“Thanks for all the prayers from millions of Nevadans and Americans who hope we can still take back the Senate and start taking our country back,” he told his supporters.
Republicans have seen tighter races than they were expecting up and down ballots across the U.S., including in Nevada where Laxalt was favored to win ahead of the Tuesday election and where he took an immediate substantial lead over Cortez Masto.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, left, and Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, right, are running in a dead heat in Nevada.
(Associated Press)
COULD NAIL-BITER NEVADA SENATE RACE WHERE GOP CANDIDATE LAXALT LEADS BY 800 VOTES GO TO RECOUNT?
But as ballots have continued to be counted in Nevada’s urban areas, Cortez Masto saw a bump in support and the vote difference between the GOP and Democratic candidates dropped briefly below 800 votes Friday night.
Saturday is the last day Nevada allows mail-in ballots to be accepted and voters have until Monday to address any clerical errors on their ballots under the state’s “cure” system.
Nevada, like in 2020, will be a crucial state in determining who will gain majority rule in the Senate as the GOP look to take control from the Democrats.
MINDEN, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: Nevada republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt greets former U.S. President Donald Trump on stage during a campaign rally at Minden-Tahoe Airport on October 08, 2022 in Minden, Nevada.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Democrats and Republicans are evenly divided as both parties have secured 49 seats in the upper chamber, but Democrats only need to win one more seat before they can secure the majority rule due to the voting powers granted to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republicans will need to win Nevada and Georgia to take majority rule from their Democratic colleagues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
