[US Midterm Elections] Biden Keeps Senate "Glad, Going to Talks Stronger" (Comprehensive Report 2)

President Joe Biden of the United States
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The U.S. Democratic Party maintained its majority status in the Senate in the midterm elections held on the 8th (local time). President Joe Biden expressed his joy, even mentioning the strengthening of bargaining power with China.

Major foreign media predicted on the 12th (local time) that Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada would win against Republican candidate Adam Laxalt. Accordingly, major foreign media outlets such as The Washington Post (WP) and The New York Times (NYT) simultaneously reported on the 12th that the Democrats had retained control of the Senate.

President Biden, who is visiting Phnom Penh, Cambodia to attend the ASEAN Summit, described the election results as "not surprising and very pleasing," explaining that "the results reflect the qualifications of our candidates." He added, "We will now focus on Georgia," and said, "You might call me an unrealistic optimist, but I feel good about our current situation."

Regarding the impact of the election results on the U.S.-China summit, he evaluated, "We are going stronger into the meeting." President Biden is scheduled to hold a summit with President Xi Jinping on the 14th, marking their first meeting since Biden took office. He also explained, "I know Xi Jinping, and he knows me," adding, "The two of us have always had honest discussions."

If the Democrats control the Senate, it will also ease the appointment process for federal judges, including the Supreme Court, for President Biden. The Senate has authority over committee coordination, investigations, and oversight of the Biden administration, and can reject legislation passed by the House, which is expected to be controlled by the Republicans. However, there are also views that the Democrats will still fall short of the 60 votes needed for major legislative decisions, indicating some limitations.

In this Senate election, Nevada remained a battleground state. Candidate Laxalt led until the middle of the vote count, but Senator Masto overturned this in the final stages, creating a comeback. If Senator Masto wins in Nevada, the Senate seat count will be 50 for the Democrats versus 49 for the Republicans. The day before, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona secured his election victory over Republican candidate Blake Masters, bringing the Senate seat count to a tie at 49-49.

The last remaining state, Georgia, will hold a runoff election on the 6th of next month as no candidate secured a majority. Regardless of the outcome, the Democrats will be able to maintain their majority status in the Senate. Even if Republican candidate Herschel Walker wins in Georgia, making the seat count 50-50, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the ex officio Senate President, can cast the deciding vote.

While the Republicans are expected to win the House, the margin is not large, and with the Democrats maintaining their majority in the Senate, the Democrats are considered to have performed better than expected. NBC predicts that the Republicans have secured 219 seats, surpassing the majority threshold of 218, ahead of the Democrats' 216 seats. CNN reports predictions of 211 seats for Republicans and 204 for Democrats. However, the House election count is also extremely close, so the final seat count may change.