Republicans lose shot at control of Senate in major blow to former US President Trump

NEW YORK: With the defeat of a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party has lost a shot at the control of the Senate which will remain in the hands of the Democrats.

With the victory of sitting Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto over Republican Adam Laxalt declared Saturday night, the Democratic Party will have at least 50 senators in the 100-member chamber and with Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote a command a majority. The one pending result is from Georgia where a runoff will be held next month, and even if the Republicans win it, the chamber will be split 50-50 with Harris tilting the balance.

A Christian Pastor, Raphael Warnock who is the Democratic Party candidate, polled more votes than the Trump candidate, former football star Herschel Walker, but narrowly fell short of the 50 per cent mark required to win in Georgia necessitating the repoll.

Trump appears in public undeterred by the series of setbacks to his loyalists that dashed Republican hopes of capturing the Senate and raised questions over his influence over voters at large. He is going to announce on Tuesday that his plan to run for president in the 2024 election, his former campaign communications chief and member of his inner circle, Jason Miller, told a podcast on Friday night.

The Republicans, whose expectations of a "red wave" turned into a ripple, still have a chance at getting control of the House of Representatives, but they suffered a setback on Saturday when their candidate lost a House seat that they had held for over a decade in Washington State. With 21 results pending, they lead Democrats, 211 to 203 in the 435-member House where 218 seats are needed for a majority.

In the Senate, the Democrats will continue to face the same problems they had because for many important matters they will not have the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles to legislate. For Trump, at least, a Republican majority in the House, however slim, will matter more. They could stop inquiries into Trump's affairs and delve into President Joe Biden's and his administration's. IANS

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