In Nevada, two days after Election Day, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s race to defend her seat against the challenge from Republican Adam Laxalt is still a toss-up, and the outcome may not be known for days. Late Thursday evening, with about 87% of the results in, Laxalt’s lead over Cortez Masto fell to just under a point, and the margin separating the two is now around 8,000 votes.
Ballots are still being counted in the state’s most populous county, Clark County, where 91% of the vote is in. In 2016, Cortez Masto won the county by over 80,000 votes.
Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria told reporters in Las Vegas Wednesday that he expects that the ballots in that county may be counted by next Thursday, at the latest, and the canvass of the vote would take place next Friday.
Cortez Masto, 58, is considered to be the most vulnerable Democratic senator fighting for reelection, and if Laxalt, a former state attorney general, defeats her, it will be a crucial pickup for Republicans looking to flip the seat and gain control of the upper chamber. Three Senate races remain to be decided. In addition to Nevada, Arizona’s Senate race is yet to be called, and Georgia’s Senate race is going to a runoff in early December.
Cortez Masto became the nation’s first Latina senator when she won the race in 2016 to succeed the late Sen. Harry Reid when he retired at the end of his term. She and Laxalt were neck-and-neck heading into Election Day, according to a recent CBS News poll.
– Alyssa Spady and Elizabeth Campbell contributed to this report.
