Midterm election results updates: Dems keep control of Senate with Nevada win
Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada clinched the chamber for Democrats.
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:
Biden urges bipartisanship but draws some red lines on abortion, Social Security
Taking the stage at a Democratic National Committee event, President Joe Biden continued to call for bipartisanship but made it clear he would veto Republican attempts to ban abortion or cut social programs like Social Security.
As of Thursday afternoon, the balance of power in the House and Senate was still up in the air. Democrats could lose majority control of both chambers.
"The American people sent a message that they want us to work together," Biden said.
"Folks, I'll always welcome any good ideas, whether it's Democrat or Republican, to move the country forward," Biden said, before going on to list potential legislative efforts by a GOP majority that he would block.
"But I've also made it really clear that Republicans tried to repeal the power we just gave Medicare to reduce prescription costs, I will veto it," he said. "If Republicans try to walk away from the historic commitment we just made to deal with the climate crisis, I will not let that happen. If Republicans try to cut Social Security or Medicare, I will not let that happen."
50,000 ballots left to be counted in Clark County, Nevada
In Clark County, Nevada, 50,000 ballots still need to be counted, according to county registrar of voters Joe Gloria.
“Over the course of the next three days we'll get them into the system,” he said.
“We will report again Friday night and then report again Saturday night. At that point we expect the majority of the ballots to be tabulated,” he said.
-ABC News’ Abby Cruz
VP Harris says midterms prove ‘democracy is intact’
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at a Democratic National Committee event on Thursday, thanked election workers and others as the party defied expectations in the midterms.
“As we gather here, votes are still being counted. But it is clear your work sent a message to the entire world: Our democracy is intact,” Harris said.
“And when democracy is intact, this is what it looks like,” she continued. “Here's the thing: some Democrats won and some Republicans won. That is what happens when more than 100 million Americans participate and vote in free and fair and open elections.”
Harris, President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff were all in attendance. The event took place at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.
“You did it, Joe,” Harris said, riffing off her viral video reacting to the 2020 election results.
Maricopa County expects to wrap vote count on Monday
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Bill Gates told ABC News he expects to wrap up vote counting in Arizona’s largest county by Monday.
“We have just a little over 400,000 votes left to be counted,” he said.
A record number of "late earlies" were dropped off on Election Day -- 290,000 ballots -- which is slowing the process, Gates added.
“This is not out of the ordinary -- it's fairly consistent with what we've done in the past,” he stressed. “Again, we want to be doing this accurately.”
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey