US midterm elections
Democrats defend Arizona – Republicans take Nevada
Senator Mark Kelly waves to supporters at a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona. photo
© Christopher Brown/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
The counting of the votes in some US states dragged on. Now it’s clear: In Arizona, the Democrat Kelly is defending his Senate seat, in Nevada, the Republican Lombardo becomes governor.
Certainty after days of counting crime: Democrat Mark Kelly defended his hard-fought Senate seat in the congressional elections in the US state of Arizona.
Former astronaut Kelly defeated Republican challenger Blake Masters, the AP news agency and television networks CNN and NBC reported based on ballot counts. The Republicans had hoped to take the Senate seat in Arizona from the Democrats.
The question of who will control the US Senate in the future was ultimately still dependent on the Senate races in three states. In this nail-biter, the victory for the Democrats in Arizona was therefore of particular importance. Only two Senate races have not yet been decided – in the states of Nevada and Georgia. There will be a runoff election in Georgia on December 6th.
Republicans win in Nevada
The Republicans, on the other hand, win the governor election in the US state of Nevada after a long nail-biter. Conservative Joe Lombardo defeated Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak, US media reported based on ballot counts. Lombardo was supported in the election campaign by former Republican President Donald Trump.
The counting of the votes in Nevada and Arizona, however, took a particularly long time due to the tight races of the opponents and due to electoral peculiarities in the states. In the midterm elections, governorships in 36 US states were up for election. It is the most powerful office in a federal state, comparable to that of a prime minister in Germany.