Posted on 11/15/2008 10:27:25 AM PST by BGHater
Anchorage mayor Mark Begich (D) increased his lead over Republican Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska) to 1,022 votes as of late Friday, giving Democrats hope of raising their Senate majority to 58 seats.
State officials suspended their tally for the weekend and are scheduled to begin counting the remaining absentee and provisional ballots early next week.
Campaign officials estimate that there are about 25,000 ballots left to count, including about 15,000 absentee and provisional ballots from the Anchorage area and nearly 10,000 absentee ballots from the Kenai Peninsula and Juneau.
Democrats say they are confident about the race because, since election officials began counting nearly 90,000 absentee and provisional ballots at the start of the week, Begich has erased a more-than 3,000-vote deficit.
Democrats argue that Begich has taken the lead since the counting of absentee ballots because many of his supporters were encouraged to vote early.
“The Democrats were very aggressive with early-vote efforts,” said Begich spokeswoman Julie Hasquet. “We had super-aggressive canvass efforts across the state to get people out voting early.”
The Alaska race now seems the best opportunity for Democrats to pick up their 58th seat in the Senate. They also have a chance of capturinf Republican Sen. Norm Coleman’s seat in Minnesota. Coleman leads by 206 votes out of nearly 3 million votes cast. The Republican led by 725 votes on Nov. 4 but watched his lead shrink after state election officials counted missed ballots and double-checked their totals.
A laborious hand recount of all ballots is set to begin next week and may take weeks to complete.
Democrats have a smaller possibility of winning the seat now held by Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.). Chambliss failed to win over 50 percent of the vote in his race against Democrat Jim Martin. State law requires the two candidates to square off again in a runoff scheduled for Dec. 2.
A major question for Democrats in Georgia is whether they can still mobilize as many African-American voters in December without President-elect Barack Obama on the ticket. African-Americans voted overwhelmingly for Obama and other Democratic candidates on Nov. 4.
Senate Democrats view 58 as a crucial number in the Senate because it would give them enough votes, when combined with Maine’s two liberal Republican senators, to quash obstructionist Republican procedural tactics.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) are considered the most likely to vote with Democrats on procedural votes that need to be cleared to pass controversial legislation. Some conservative activists believe, for example, that it would be useless to attempt to filibuster liberal judicial nominees if Democrats control 58 seats because they expect Collins and Snowe to vote with the majority often.
Control of 58 seats will also give Democrats a strong chance to pass the controversial Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation is a top priority for labor groups but hated by business interests because it would make it much easier for labor activists to organize unions. It would allow labor activists to organize without holding secret ballot elections.
Then the center of the Political World is gonna be on Georgia.
Such a sad state of affairs for America. Hanging in the balance....
If the Senate Repbulicans has announced earlier that they would not seat Sevens would that have affected early voters enough to let Stevens win and force a special election?
Well,why the panic. They have the 60 with 58.
Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe will deliver.
They already have the 60.
Rush is right..the only hope is when BO and dems over extend and the bluedogs in the House balk. That’s it.
BO will have no problem getting his agenda passed.
And, that is the way it is....cest la vie
I feel like I’m in some kind of alternate reality. Why isn’t “early voting” a red flag to Republicans. It was nothing but a new way to cheat from the onset.
Someone needs to look at these early registrations before it’s too late. We don’t have to look like we’re defending Stevens if we make it clear it’s about the seat.
If these counts were correct, pollsters may as well give notice. A 4,000 gain from absentee ballots that was not reflected in the election? Come on guys!
The good news? Possibly the worst member of the Republican caucus and a corrupt old RINO is leaving.
The bad news? He isn’t being replaced by a Republican. If the dirty old fool had resigned before the primary this seat would have been a lock. Thanks Ted for screwing your country!
What can we expect when a convict is our candidate? We’re lucky it was even close.
“If the Senate Repbulicans has announced earlier that they would not seat Sevens would that have affected early voters enough to let Stevens win and force a special election?”
That is very possible. One thing is for sure though. If the old fool had quit before the primary and been replaced by someone else the seat would be ours.
If they get 58, they’ll actually have 62, counting Snowe, Collins, Durbin and McCaine...
I have to say, here the hell are the Republicans on this? Oh, that’s right, wouldn’t want to roil all that bipartisan spirit they’ve been brewing up!
Nope, not too biased and opinionated here ....
And McCain? McCain? McCain has an 84% ACU rating. He gets some things wrong (CRF, Immigration) but he gets a lot of other things right.
It’s not about the 60 seats to me, it’s about the ongoing voter fraud that is virtually shredding our Constitution. We need a legal team to challenge early voting, we need Republicans to get on these races at critical points instead of sailing off on soul-searching cruises.
The Alaska and Minnesota races are turning points. If we let them stuff the ballot box there, we may never get another chance to stop the fraud. All of the GOP resources should be on stopping vote fraud, not licking their wounds.
In close races democrats ALWAYS ‘find’ enough votes to win.
>African-Americans voted overwhelmingly for Obama and other Democratic candidates on Nov. 4.
Of course the blacks did. They know their best chance of getting cash, benefits and other freebies is by voting for the welfare party. Meanwhile, those of us that actually work for a living will get soaked even more to support their anchor babies, the reparations for slavery, affirmative action and every other “feel good” cost the democrats choose to steal from us.
There is something really wrong going on but it can not be stated by anyone lest they be tagged a racist, uncle Tom or any other white guilt title the morons in America choose.
The reasons for continuing working to support the lazy trash of America are getting fewer while the minorities with their hand out quickly become the majority. When they reap what they have sown, they will have an empty and diseased crop.
Soon, they will have to come to me in person to try and extort or loot my hard earned earnings. I may die defending what I have left, but the looters will suffer a huge loss as they try to steal it from me and my family.
democrats, criminals every last one.
And reality is when it comes to immigration GWB was likely right strategically (for the need for the GOP to be seen as part of a real solution within the Hispanic community) but the WH was wrong tactically about how to go about it (border issues should have been offered up / implemented first). Our base, while right tactically then through away our strategic needs because they did not support the tactical actions of the WH on the issue. Sad.
Alaska voting at least is transparent.
Who knows? One thing is for sure, we do not get to vote for a felon every day.
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