Republican Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt was poised for victory late Tuesday night as votes were being tabulated across the state.
“We are exactly where we want to be … We are going to win this race,” the former state attorney general addressed his supporters in Las Vegas.
By 11:30 p.m. PT, nearly 60 percent of votes had been counted, showing vulnerable incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ahead by four points.
However, officials in Clark County (Nevada’s most populous county) said they “do not expect to process two significant tranches of ballots Tuesday night, increasing the likelihood that the outcome of one of the most closely watched Senate races won’t be known before the sun rises on Wednesday,” NBC News reported.
The Nevada Independent’s Jon Ralston noted early data out of Clark County shows Laxalt “eating into Cortez Masto’s lead: Now 43,000, or 8 percent” and estimating that “rural landslide numbers…will be critical.”
The race between Laxalt and Cortez Masto has been close for months, with polling closer to Election day showing Laxalt pulling ahead by several points. By Election Day, RealClearPolitics averaged out Laxalt’s advantage at 3.4 points.
Whoever wins the Nevada U.S. Senate race could ultimately decide the balance of power in the United States as the nation heads into the second half of President Joe Biden’s first term.