Republicans on Cusp of Winning Control of House of Representatives

On

U.S. Republicans were on the cusp Tuesday of winning control of the House of Representatives in the next session of Congress that takes office in January. After new Republican victories Monday night, the party has won 217 seats to the Democrats’ 204 in both parties’ quest for a 218-seat majority in the 435-member chamber. Election analysts say vote counts in the remaining 14 contests give Republicans plenty of opportunities to pick up one more seat and likely additional ones to wrest control of the chamber from the current Democratic majority. Democratic President Joe Biden acknowledged as much on Monday, tellingmore

Leave a comment

Republicans Edge Closer to Winning Control of House of Representatives

On

Republicans appeared Monday to be edging closer to winning control of the House of Representatives in the next session of Congress that takes office in January.  Republicans already have won 212 seats to the Democrats’ 204 in both parties’ quest for a 218-seat majority in the 435-member chamber. But election analysts say vote counts in the remaining 19 unsettled contests mostly appeared to be headed in the Republicans’ favor, which eventually could allow them to wrest control of the chamber from the current Democratic majority.  Democratic President Joe Biden acknowledged as much, telling reporters at a G-20 news conference inmore

Leave a comment

Democrats Retain Control of US Senate

On

The Democratic Party retained control of the U.S. Senate on Saturday night with the reelection of Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, giving the Democrats 50 seats to the Republicans’ 49, so far. Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general, to win. With the victories of Cortez Masto, which The Associated Press called Saturday night, and that of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in Arizona late Friday, Democrats now control 50 Senate seats. One last seat has yet to be filled, Georgia’s. That race will be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff election between Democraticmore

Leave a comment

Senate Control May Come Down to Nevada

On

Control of the U.S. Senate may come down to Nevada, where a slow ballot count entered its final act Saturday in the nail-biter contest between Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican challenger Adam Laxalt. Saturday is the last day that mail ballots can arrive and be counted under the state’s new voting law. Election officials were hustling to get through a backlog of tens of thousands of ballots to determine the race’s winner. The Nevada race took on added importance after Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly was declared the winner of his reelection campaign in Arizona Friday night, giving hismore

Leave a comment

US Senate Race Tightens in Nevada; More Results Expected in Arizona

On

Control of the U.S. Senate was still undetermined late Friday, but incumbent Senator Mark Kelly’s win in Arizona tied the Republican and Democratic wins with 49 seats each. Election officials in the Western state of Nevada said the race there tightened late Friday in favor of the Democratic candidate, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, against her Republican challenger, Adam Laxalt. If Cortez Masto wins, the Democrats will be in control of the Senate, regardless of the outcome of Georgia’s still-undecided vote, because Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes in the 100-member Senate. Days after Americans voted across themore

Leave a comment

Kelly Win in Arizona Puts Democrats 1 Seat From Senate Control

On

U.S. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly won his bid for reelection Friday in the crucial swing state of Arizona, defeating Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters to put his party one victory away from clinching control of the chamber for the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency. With Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the Senate by winning either the Nevada race, which remains too early to call, or next month’s runoff in the state of Georgia. Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority. The Arizona race is one of a handfulmore

Leave a comment

Trump Files Lawsuit in Effort to Avoid Testifying About January 6

On

Former President Donald Trump is suing the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to block a subpoena requiring him to testify. The suit contends that, while former presidents have voluntarily agreed to provide testimony or documents in response to congressional subpoenas in the past, “no president or former president has ever been compelled to do so.” “Long-held precedent and practice maintain that separation of powers prohibits Congress from compelling a president to testify before it,” Trump attorney David A. Warrington said in a statement announcing Trump’s intentions. He said Trump had “engagedmore

Leave a comment

A Nation Waits: US Election Workers Counting Thousands of Votes

On

Arizona and Nevada election workers were toiling on Friday to tally hundreds of thousands of ballots that could determine control of the U.S. Senate and the shape of President Joe Biden’s next two years in office, in a vote count that officials in the two battleground states warn could drag on for days. Winning both contests would give either Democrats or Republicans a Senate majority, while a split would transform a December 6 runoff Senate election in Georgia into a proxy battle for the chamber. Political analysts are anticipating a rush of campaign funds into Georgia as Republicans and Democratsmore

Leave a comment

Why Does US Ballot Counting Take So Long?

On

The balance of power in the U.S. Congress following Tuesday’s midterm elections is still up in the air, with several key races yet to be called some 48 hours after many polls closed. A cliffhanger-style multiday wait for results is far from unusual in the United States, where it is the media that generally first calls elections, based on votes tabulated by county clerks and other officials as well as statistical analysis. While the long delays can exasperate American voters — and raise questions from curious international observers — there are several reasons why the process can stretch out. Patchworkmore

Leave a comment

US Confident in Integrity of Midterm Elections

On

A day after the polls closed for the United States’ midterm elections, the government agency charged with leading election security efforts expressed confidence that every vote cast was being counted accurately. “We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country,” said Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in a statement Wednesday. “We can all have confidence in the safety, security, and integrity of our elections,” she added. The assessment confirmed a sentiment expressed by multiple CISA officials whilemore

Leave a comment

Tight California Races May Determine US House Control

On

A string of too-early-to-call California races remains in play and might end up determining whether Republicans seize control of the U.S. House or Democrats hang on to power. With millions of votes still uncounted Wednesday across the nation’s most populous state, uncertainty remained for about a dozen of the state’s 52 House contests. The most competitive of those races were in the Los Angeles region and the Central Valley farm belt. In Southern California, Democratic Representatives Katie Porter and Mike Levin were locked in close races, despite President Joe Biden’s late-hour campaign swing on their behalf. East of Los Angeles,more

Leave a comment

Democracy ‘Who We Are,’ Biden Says After Midterm Elections

On

America’s midterm elections, which left control of the Congress in doubt with several House and Senate seats still to be decided after a full day of ballot-counting, nevertheless marked a good day for democracy, President Joe Biden said Wednesday. “Our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their votes, the American people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are,” Biden told reporters during a wide-ranging 53-minute news conference at the White House. The president characterized his Democratic Party as having done better than expected against the Republicans and announced he will invite leadersmore

Leave a comment

US Midterms Seen Maintaining Congress’ Bipartisan Support for Iran’s People; Impact on Biden Policy Unclear

On

The U.S. midterm elections are likely to result in a continuity of bipartisan congressional support for the Iranian people’s aspirations for freedom from Islamist rule, but the impact on President Joe Biden’s Iran policy is unclear, according to some Iranian American observers. Majid Sadeghpour, policy director for the Organization of Iranian American Communities, told VOA that he foresees a bipartisan group in Congress continuing to side with Iran’s seven-week-long uprising in which Iranians have protested mostly peacefully in universities, factories and streets against their ruling Shiite clerics. “We see no distinction here between Republicans and Democrats. Bipartisan members of Congressmore

Leave a comment

African Nations Closely Watch US Midterm Results

On

With control of Congress still undecided a day after the U.S. midterm elections, African leaders and political analysts are closely watching for signs of what impact the outcome could have on the continent. African analysts say their biggest concern is how this contentious poll could affect U.S. standing around the world — especially in African nations that have seen democratic backsliding. There are also economic concerns over how the U.S. responds to rising inflation around the world. Wednesday trading showed that African markets were closely watching the impact on the most popular U.S. export: the dollar. On a more personalmore

Leave a comment

Control of House, Senate Too Close to Call

On

The fate of U.S. President Joe Biden’s policy aspirations for the remainder of his first term hangs in the balance as the country awaits midterm election results that will determine which political party controls Congress for the next two years. Several key Senate races were too close to call early Wednesday while incumbents are faring well in others. Election officials across the country have cautioned it could take days before the results of some contests are definitive. Overall, an anticipated Republican red wave appears to be a trickle with the opposition party picking up fewer than expected seats in themore

Leave a comment

Control of the US Congress Still Too Close to Call

On

U.S. voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide control of the U.S. Congress. But with vote counting still ongoing, many races are still too close to call and it is still not clear if Democrats will retain their narrow majorities in the House and Senate – or if Republicans will take control. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports from Georgia. Videographer: Adam Greenbaum …

Leave a comment

After Election, Disinformation Battle Continues

On

Election officials across the United States found themselves in a pitched battle Tuesday, trying to quash domestic and largely partisan efforts to take scattered voting malfunctions and cast them as evidence of a larger conspiracy targeting the 2022 midterm elections.  Warnings about the potential for a rigged election have been circulating for weeks on websites and social media platforms favored by conservatives and supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump, many of whom continue to believe the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen despite a lack of evidence.  Those claims gained new life early Tuesday after officials in New Jerseymore

Leave a comment

Inflation, Abortion Top Issues for US Midterm Voters, Exit Poll Finds

On

Inflation and abortion topped the list of issues motivating U.S. voters in Tuesday’s midterm elections, followed by crime, immigration and gun policy, an exit poll conducted by Edison Research showed. Turnout for the midterms, which will determine control of Congress and a number of state governorships, was about evenly divided between men and women, according to the poll. The following is a summary of some of the survey’s latest findings: About 6 out of 10 voters said they were “dissatisfied or angry” about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, and about the same percentage said abortionmore

Leave a comment

Handful of States Will Decide Control of US Congress for Next 2 Years

On

The balance of power in the U.S. Congress is at stake Tuesday as voters head to the polls to decide whether Democrats will continue to hold the majority in the Senate and House, either delivering a boost for Joe Biden’s presidency or shifting power to Republicans. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports from one of the key places in Election 2022 — the Southern state of Georgia. Videographer: Adam Greenbaum …

Leave a comment