In 2016, Catherine Cortez Masto became the first Latina and first woman from Nevada to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Overnight Saturday, the Democratic Senator from Nevada was re-elected to the upper chamber securing Democrats control of the Senate for the remaining two years of Joe Biden's presidency.  

Cortez Masto won the Senate seat after defeating Republican Adam Laxalt, leaving a 50-49 advantage in the Senate. 

According to NBC News, Masto's victory means Democrats will hold the Senate regardless of the outcome of Georgia's Dec. 6 runoff election, when Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker will face each other again after neither cleared the 50% threshold required under state law. 

Walker’s win would keep the Senate 50-50, where Vice President Kamala Harris casts the tie-breaking vote for Democrats.

The San Diego Union-Tribune assures that the conclusion of the canvass in Nevada took several days due to the vote-by-mail system created by the state Legislature in 2020, which forces counties to accept incoming ballots up to four days after Election Day. 

Stay tuned to AL DIA for more midterm election updates.