Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has won one of the nation's closest-watched Senate races in Nevada, deciding the fate of Senate control for the next two years.
Cortez Masto, who made history in 2016 when she was elected as the country's first Latina senator, won this year's election against Republican Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general, in a race unanimously rated as a "toss-up" by Inside Elections, The Cook Political Report, and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
The contentious race was too close to call for days after voting was completed, with absentee ballots still being counted and slow processing times in Clark and Washoe counties, the two localities containing the populous cities of Las Vegas and Reno, respectively.
With final votes tallied, Cortez Masto's victory secures Democratic control of the Senate until the next election cycle in two years.
However, the Nevada race still doesn't end the 2022 Senate election cycle, as neither Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican nominee Herschel Walker received over 50% of the vote in Georgia. Therefore, the race will head to a Dec. 6 runoff election.
Control of the House of Representatives remains up in the air as ballots are still being counted in several races, mostly on the West Coast.
