Senate Set for Photo Finish

The triumph of Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman over Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race puts the Democrats in a strong position to retain their grip on the upper chamber even as it stymies Republican hopes for a red wave that would return them to legislative power. The future of the Senate is uncertain as dawn breaks on Wednesday morning, with control of that body now hanging on results from Nevada and Georgia. In the Silver State, Republican Adam Laxalt holds a slim lead with two-thirds of the vote in. The GOP needs to win both to flip the chamber. With more than 95 percent of the vote tallied in the Peachtree State, Senator Warnock, who also serves as the preacher of Ebenezer Baptist Church, holds a slender lead of less than a point over a former football star, Herschel Walker. However, the Democrat is under the 50 percent threshold. If that holds, it would trigger a runoff in December. In Arizona, the astronaut Mark Kelly, who gained office via a special election, holds a 6-point lead against Blake Masters, a graduate of Stanford Law School who was once the venture capitalist Peter Thiel’s deputy. Two-thirds of that state’s votes have been tallied. Democrats received more good tidings Tuesday night as Michael Bennet held his Colorado Senate seat by fending off a challenge from construction executive Joseph O’Dea, who ran as a moderate opposed to President Trump as well as Senator Graham’s proposed national abortion ban. Washington state saw its veteran senator, Patty Murray, in office since 1992, repel a challenge from a Republican nurse, Tiffany Smiley. Mrs. Murray has been named the victor by virtue of a lead of more than 100,000 votes halfway through the count. In New Hampshire, Republican hopes that a retired Army brigadier general, Don Bolduc — who ran as an unapologetic avatar of the right — could unseat Senator Hassan were dashed. Mrs. Hassan has long been seen as a vulnerable incumbent since winning in 2016, but she keeps her seat in the Granite State. The GOP’s signature Senate win was in Ohio, where author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance, backed by Mr. Trump, defeated Representative Timothy Ryan. Mr. Ryan ran ahead of President Biden’s 2020 pace, suggesting a possible 2024 presidential playbook. With 95 percent of the vote counted, the margin looks to be about seven points. More good news for the GOP could come from Wisconsin, where Senator Johnson leads his challenger, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, by about 30,000 votes. Mr. Johnson looks to be in the catbird seat to pull out the victory. In North Carolina, the Republican candidate, Representative Ted Budd, defeated a former state supreme court justice, Cheri Beasley. Mr. Budd was backed by Mr. Trump. Overall, though, it was Senator Graham who seemed to capture the mood best. He told NBC that the results were “definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.”

Senate Set for Photo Finish

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