Senate Races Aftermath

It appears the worthless Saxby Chambliss has handily won re-election to his Georgia Senate seat, meaning Democrats are just a tad short of having a supermajority in the Senate.

It's time to work on 2010.

Senate Races

Al Franken is now down to a mere 237 votes from his rival, incumbent Republican senator Norm Coleman:

The margin in the tightest Senate race in the country bounced like the stock market throughout the day, with the difference between Coleman and Franken dropping, then rising briefly to 590 votes before shooting down to a razor-thin 237 as of 9:27 a.m.

In a reversal of the previous day, when Coleman had declared victory and suggested that Franken should waive a recount, Coleman kept to himself on Thursday, while Franken called reporters to talk about the prospects for a continued narrowing of the count.

Since the ballots are of the optical scan variety, all kinds shenanigans could take place regardless of a paper trail. But thank God a paper trail exists.
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Now that the count has narrowed in Georgia, the chances incumbent Saxby Chambliss will NOT face a runoff against Jim Martin are probably zilch:

By percentage, the race stands at Chambliss, 49.8 percent; Democrat Jim Martin, 46.8 percent; and Libertarian Allen Buckley, 3.4 percent.

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Ted Stevens continues to hold a narrow lead against Mark Begich, and if he returns to the U.S. Senate only to be forced out, there is speculation galore as to the possibility Sarah Palin could appoint herself to replace him.
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Oregon's Gordon Smith was defeated in a bruising, close election against challenger Jeff Markley.

It was the first time in 40 years an incubent Oregon senator had been thrown out of office.

With the above three contests yet to be decided, Democrats will have 57 senators come January.
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