Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska conceded to Democrat Mark Begich earlier today, and has announced that he will not seek a recount.
With nearly all the votes counted, Begich leads by 3,724 votes, or 1.2%, over Stevens. Thus ends Stevens's forty-year long reign in the Senate.
It also dashes Sarah Palin's hope of becoming a Senator before 2012.
Now, the Democrats have officially picked up seven seats, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut will remain in the Democratic caucus, giving them 58 seats (including Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont).
In Minnesota, all of the ballots have been counted and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman leads Democrat Al Franken by 215 votes. However, an automatic manual recount (that's by hand) of all 2.9 million votes started today and thousands of contested ballots will be fought over one by one in the coming weeks. The recount will be overseen by a five-man board consisting of Minnesota secretary of state Mark Richie (a Democrat) and four state judges. It is being reported that it could take up to a month.
In Georgia, both sides are gearing up for the December 2 runoff election between Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. John McCain and other marquee Republican names have been or will be down there campaigning for Chambliss, while Bill Clinton will hold a rally with Martin in Atlanta. It should be close, but I'd give the edge to Chambliss.
If the Democrats pull off a miracle and win both of these seats, then they will have their 60-seat filibuster-proof majority. But it is still highly unlikely.
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