LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Adam Laxalt,(R) former attorney general, held a lead of thousands of votes over incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in the race for US Senate Wednesday evening with tens of thousands of votes left to count, largely from democratic stronghold Clark County and swing county Washoe.
The candidates both ended their election night speeches with cautious optimism about the outcome while urging their supporters to practice patience.
"We are going to get this done," Cortez Masto said to the gathered crowd of Democrats. "Thank you everyone. Thank you Democrats for coming out!"
"We are going to win this race," Laxalt said to his own supporters. "We're going to take back Nevada, and we're going to take back America. Thank you!"
UNLV Associate Professor of History Michael Green said both candidates, behind closed doors, are likely on pins and needles.
"You don't want to be either Catherine Cortez Masto or Adam Laxalt," Green said, "because you're sitting around tinder hooks, but they're both in decent positions."
Laxalt's multi-point lead Wednesday evening put him ahead, but Green warned that with tens of thousands of votes left to be tabulated, largely in urban Washoe and Clark counties and largely Democrat favorite mail-in ballots, Cortez Masto wasn't out of the race.
"Who knows exactly what's going to happen here?" Green asked. "The question is whether there are enough votes in there to put, not just the senator but several state candidates who are in there, over the top."
Green said it wouldn't surprise him if Cortez Masto came out on top when all the votes are tallied, even though the chance dwindles with every new batch where she still trails, because he's already been surprised by how well Democrats performed nationally in a mid-term they were expected to lose handily.
"As close as these elections are, I think a lot of these people's nerves are still going to be jangled," he said, "and the patience that the candidates counseled on election night is well worth holding on to."
Green said because mail ballots were required to be postmarked by Tuesday, he expected the majority of mail ballots to come into their election departments by late Thursday and then the remaining votes would trickle in through the Saturday deadline.
He said the bulk of tabulation could be complete, and a winner revealed, by the end of the week.
