Democrat Gallego wins Arizona Senate race, defining Republican majority
Al Jazeera
The last pending Senate race of the 2024 election has been called, meaning Republicans will hold a three-seat majority.
Democrat Reuben Gallego will be heading back to Washington, albeit in a new capacity, after his Senate race against Republican Kari Lake was finally called.
The Associated Press determined Gallego, who previously held a seat in the House of Representatives, to be the winner after vote-count updates on Monday closed off any remaining paths of victory for Lake.
With the closure of Arizona’s Senate race, the last one outstanding, the Republican majority in the body is finally defined at 53 seats, with the remaining 47 split between 43 Democrats and four independents.
This is the first time in four years that the Republicans will control the Senate, likely giving them a clean sweep in the 2024 elections. Republican former President Donald Trump is the new president-elect after he beat Vice President Kamala Harris. The Republicans are also expected to retain control of the House of Representatives.
Democrats gained control of the upper chamber of the US legislature after 2021 special elections in Georgia by a slim 51-seat majority which included four independent senators. They would have needed to defend every possible seat to keep it that way.
