Thursday, November 09, 2006

democrats take the senate

After an exhausting hotly-contested Senate race in Virginia, Democrat Jim Webb has been declared the victor, leading his party to the majority in the United States Senate for the first time since 2002.

A source close to incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen says that the ongoing canvass, expected to end sometime today, has not put a dent in his challenger's leading numbers.

The new makeup of the Senate will consist of 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and two independents. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut have both promised to caucus with the Democrats, giving that party the 51 seats it will need to reclaim a majority in the Senate.

Close elections were also held in Missouri, Montana and Tennessee. In Missouri, Democrat Claire McCaskill unseated Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Talent; in Montana, Democrat Jon Tester defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns; and in Tennessee, Republican Bob Corker was able to defeat Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. in what many pundits agreed was a nasty campaign from both candidates.

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