Midterm election results updates: Dems keep control of Senate with Nevada win

Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada clinched the chamber for Democrats.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Tal Axelrod, Emily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor, Isabella Murray, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Julia Jacobo, and Stephanie Guerilus
Last Updated: November 15, 2022, 5:21 AM EST

The 2022 midterm elections shaped up to be some of the most consequential in the nation's recent history, with control of Congress at stake.

All 435 seats in the House and 35 of 100 seats in the Senate were on the ballot, as well as several influential gubernatorial elections in battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Democrats were defending their narrow majorities in both chambers and retained control of the Senate, though control of the House isn't yet clear. But a Republican flip of the lower chamber would be enough to curtail most of President Joe Biden's legislative agenda and would likely result in investigations against his administration and even his family.

Key updates:

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 12, 2022, 12:18 PM EST

With Arizona Senate race called, all eyes turn to Nevada

With Democrat Mark Kelly being the projected winner of the Senate race in Arizona, the spotlight is now on Nevada for who will win the seat in the Silver State.

ABC News projections show a dead heat for power in the Senate, with Democrats and Republicans winning 49 seats each. If Democrats win Nevada, they will keep their narrow majority in the chamber. If Republicans win, majority control of the Senate will come down to the Georgia runoff in December.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is locked in a tight reelection race against Republican Adam Laxalt. Currently, with 92% of the expected vote reported, Laxalt leads Cortez Masto by one point, 49-48%.

A worker sorts through ballots in the delayed processing at the Clark County Election Department for the Nevada midterm elections in Las Vegas, Nov. 9, 2022.
David Swanson/Reuters

-ABC News' Abby Cruz

Nov 12, 2022, 11:26 AM EST

Mastriano appears to admit defeat

Republican Doug Mastriano on Friday appeared to admit that he lost Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race, days after ABC News called the race for Democrat Josh Shapiro, who leads by nearly 15 points with the final votes being tallied.

“We would have beat him without his lies and accusations,” Mastriano argued, in livestreamed remarks alongside his wife, Rebbie.

Since a Tuesday night speech in which he said he would “respect” what “the people of Pennsylvania say,” Mastriano had not spoken publicly about the race.

His silence has not bothered Shapiro, who told a Philadelphia radio station Friday that Mastriano had not called him to concede. “But who cares?” said the governor-elect. “The people pick the winner, not him.”

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

Nov 12, 2022, 10:55 AM EST

Election denier Mark Finchem loses Arizona secretary of state race

ABC News can now project Democrat Adrian Fontes will win Arizona’s secretary of state race.

“I promise to always honor and defend the ideal of fair and honest elections with the voters of Arizona and I will help reignite the flame of unity in our Republic,” Fontes said in a statement.

Fontes was up against Republican Mark Finchem, a Donald Trump-backed candidate who fully denied the outcome of the 2020 election. As a state legislator, Finchem introduced resolutions trying to decertify results.

Mark Finchem, candidate for Secretary of State of Arizona, speaks during a rally with Republican nominee for governor of Arizona Kari Lake at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 7, 2022.
Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

Election deniers were also defeated in secretary of state races in Michigan, where Republican Kristina Karamo lost to Democratic incumbent Jocelyn Benson; in Minnesota, where Democrat Steve Simon defeated Republican Kim Crockett; and in New Mexico, where Republican Audrey Trujillo lost to Democratic incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

In Pennsylvania, where the governor selects the secretary of state, Democrat Josh Shapiro defeated election-denying Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.

Nov 11, 2022, 11:01 PM EST

Mark Kelly projected to win Arizona Senate race

Sen. Mark Kelly is projected to win reelection, ABC News reports.

Kelly, a Democrat, has secured a full six-year term to the Senate after pitching himself as an independent-minded candidate with bipartisan success.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly speaks at a press conference outside the Arizona State Capitol on Nov. 7, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

He cast his opponent, Republican Blake Masters, backed by former President Donald Trump, as too extreme for Arizona.

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