Race for the Senate: Where Nevada, Arizona Stand in Latest Ballot Drop

Democratic Senate candidates made crucial gains in two battleground states after the latest ballot drops in Nevada and Arizona.

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto gained 8,716 new votes Thursday night, according to CNN, closing the gap between the Democrat and her Republican opponent Adam Laxalt.

The largest batch of votes came from Clark County, which surrounds the city of Las Vegas, where Cortez Masto won 61 percent of the vote compared to 34 percent. Laxalt, who gained 5,509 votes in total on Thursday, still holds the lead 49.2 percent to 47.8 percent.

CNN reported that roughly 105,000 votes remain uncounted in Nevada.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly improved on his lead over Republican nominee Blake Masters in Thursday's ballot drop, and now leads 51.7 percent to 46.1 percent.

Over 78,000 ballots were released from Maricopa County on Thursday, according to CNN. The new drop included early votes received between Saturday and the Monday prior to Election Day.

Kelly now holds 53.2 percent of Maricopa County while Masters has 44.7 percent. Roughly 110,000 votes are left to be counted in the county, and approximately 540,000 ballots remain uncounted statewide, reported CNN.

Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee for governor of Arizona, also improved on her lead after Thursday's drop. Hobbs holds a very narrow lead over her Republican opponent, Kari Lake, 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent.

Both Laxalt and Masters were ahead of their Democratic opponents in the days leading up to Tuesday's election, with Laxalt ahead of Cortez Masto by as much as 5 percentage points according to some polls.

Election officials from battleground states have faced criticism from GOP leaders over the delayed results, including from former President Donald Trump, who posted on his Truth Social account after the Nevada numbers were released Thursday that things in both states were looking "very strange."

Lake, who has also been critical of Arizona's election process, spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity prior to the latest ballot release and apologized "to the world who's waiting for Arizona to count the ballots." Lake also anticipated that she would win the majority of the ballots that have yet to be counted from mail-in votes that were delivered in person to polling locations on Election Day.

"When we win, on day one, we are going to call a special session, get our lawmakers busy, and say let's solve this election situation so we never have another election where the voters of Arizona are forced to wait and wait and wait to find out who won," Lake said in the segment.

Democrats currently hold 48 Senate seats while Republicans have secured 49. Both parties are relying on wins in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia—which will have a runoff election on December 6—to secure a majority at 51 seats.

Republicans are projected to maintain control of the House and currently hold 213 seats, according to CBS News. Democrats currently hold 206.

Either party needs to secure 218 seats to take control.

Newsweek reached out to the campaign teams of Cortez Masto, Laxalt, Kelly and Masters for comment on the updated Senate race.

Update 11/10/2022, 11:05 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.