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The Minnesota Senate race is headed for a recount,
ensuring that a final party breakdown in the Senate won’t be known for weeks. The Associated Press called the race for Republican
incumbent Norm Coleman at about 7:30 a.m. EST, but later uncalled it, saying it
was premature because the Republican leads comedian Al Franken (D) by just 571
votes out of about 3 million cast. State law requires an automatic recount
if races are decided with less than 0.5 percent -- unless a candidate chooses
to waive it.
Coleman's race is one of four that are still too close
for a winner to be officially declared.
In a statement, Franken said
he is not waiving his right for a recount, the first in the state since 1962.
A recount could extend into December.
"Let me be clear: Our goal is to ensure that every
vote is properly counted," Franken said and cited reports of voting
irregularities. "There is reason to believe that the recount could change
the vote tallies significantly."
Also, Sen. Ted Stevens, who last week was convicted on
felony charges, is holding onto a narrow lead over his Democratic opponent,
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D). But there are about 50,000-60,000
outstanding early and absentee ballots -- only 20 percent of which were cast
before Stevens was convicted Oct. 7 for making false statements on his
financial-disclosure forms, according to a Democratic official in the state.
Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in history, would face the possibility
of expulsion from his Senate seat if he wins the election and refuses to
resign.
In Georgia, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) led Democratic
challenger Jim Martin 49.8-46.8 percent, but state law requires a candidate to
win a majority of votes or face off in an unpredictable four-week runoff
election. But there are possibly thousands of early and absentee ballots still
outstanding that could either spawn a recount or tip the race to Chambliss.
With 74-percent of the precincts reporting, Oregon
Republican Gordon Smith led his Democratic challenger, Jeff Merkley, by 12,950
votes, but the race remains too close to call.
Democrats have expanded their Senate majority by five
seats, and will hold at least a 56-44 advantage in the next Congress, a major
increase for a party that had just 45 in the Senate just two years ago.
“I think what it has done is indicated there is a wave of
hope that swept the country ... not a mandate for any hope or ideology, but a
mandate to get things done," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
said Wednesday morning on National Public Radio.
Still, the five seats falls short of Democratic hopes to
win a filibuster proof 60-seat majority, or even the eight seats some had been
projecting.
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