Nov. 9 (UPI) — Republican Ron Johnson was re-elected to his Wisconsin Senate seat and a Georgia race was sent to a runoff as vote counting continued in Nevada and Arizona to determine which party would win control.
Johnson, 67, was ahead by roughly 25,000 votes as of noon Wednesday, with 98% of the vote counted, projected to win a third consecutive term. He defeated Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes, the state’s lieutenant governor, who would’ve been Wisconsin’s first Black senator.
Johnson is a controversial Republican and a firm ally of former President Donald Trump, who encouraged Johnson to run as early as April 2021.
Johnson challenged the results of the 2020 election, falsely claiming President Joe Biden won because of voter fraud, and has repeatedly made false claims about COVID-19 and questioned the efficacy of vaccines.
Democrats and Republicans remained tied with 48 Senate seats apiece as of 1 p.m. EST Wednesday, with votes still being counted. The Georgia, Nevada and Arizona races will decide which party takes control of the Senate.
In Georgia, Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, advanced to a Dec. 6 runoff after neither garnered the necessary 50% of the vote to win under Georgia law.
With 98% of votes counted, Warnock led Walker by a slim 49.4% to 48.5% margin.
Nevada reported 80% of its votes for Senate had been counted as of Wednesday afternoon. Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto faces Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general. Laxalt had captured 49.9% of the vote compared to Cortez Masto’s 47.2% as of 1 p.m. EST Wednesday.
In Arizona, Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly remained ahead of Republican challenger Blake Masters. Kelly, the former astronaut, held 51.4% with Masters holding 46.4% with 69% of the votes counted, leaving the race open.
In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman beat TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz for that state’s Senate seat. Oz was supported by Trump and Fetterman is recovering from a recent stroke.
The result flips the state from red to blue after Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., decided not to run for a third term.
Republican incumbents Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also had victories Tuesday night.
Republican venture capitalist J.D. Vance, won in Ohio where he defeated 10-term Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan.
Incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Col., also held onto their seats in closely watched races.
