Posted on 11/09/2006 5:56:19 AM PST by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON -- Democrats wrested control of the Senate from Republicans Wednesday with an upset victory in Virginia, giving the party complete domination of Capitol Hill for the first time since 1994.
Jim Webb's squeaker win over incumbent Sen. George Allen gave Democrats their 51st seat in the Senate, an astonishing turnabout at the hands of voters unhappy with Republican scandal and unabated violence in Iraq. Allen was the sixth Republican incumbent senator defeated in Tuesday's elections.
The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance. Webb's victory ended Republican hopes of eking out a 50-50 split, with Vice President Dick Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.
The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.
The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.
An adviser to Allen, speaking on condition of anonymity because his boss had not formally decided to end the campaign, said the senator wanted to wait until most of canvassing was completed before announcing his decision, possibly as early as Thursday evening.
The adviser said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.
Title is Misleading!
A very good man who ran a very bad campaign.
Unfortunately, he will now forever be viewed as the person who lost the Senate for the Republicans.
Or rigged voting machines?
He had a lousy campaign manager. It's a real shame. I feel so bad for him he was a good senator. Funny I don't feel like this is the end of Allen. I think we will see more of him.
Hey we don't advocate tin foil hats here. That's for the other guys.
I'll respect what Allen decides to do. I wish the results were not what they look like they are turning out to be.
They were all supposed to be counted this morning, Thursday. Yet he took the defeat. What if those absentee ballots put him over the top? Then what?
It just seems that our absentee ballots aren't counting for anything. It really upsets me.
All of this is still surreal. Alot of good people went down, alot!
I believe that title is now hanging around Bush's neck.
If there were a legitimate reason (like the Washington state governor's race last cycle), I could see it...but this isn't likely to change.
Conservatives are such grown-ups; Ann Coulter points this out in her latest column...no "Diebold ripped us off" crying.
That being said, I'm very sorry to see Allen go. He is a good man.
I've been wondering about the absentee ballots too.
The press is declaring Webb the winner? Just heard on the local news that Allen hasn't given up. The reason being that broken machines(s) in Isle of Wight County have not been counted.
Someone please refresh my memory: just who is supposed to declare the winner in any political race?
Ed Gilespie? I don't blame Ed. I blame Allen. He was a terrible, foot-in-mouth-before-brain-engaged kind of guy. Say what you will about the macacca deal and the Jewish deal, but he should have thought more than two seconds ahead to see how it would have played outside of his base. He didn't, he lost.
Yes, too many good people went down...Weldon, Hayworth, Santorum. It was the "Nov 7th Massacre"!
All because Bush was too stupid to "stay the course" and allow "open borders" into the USA!
If the Dems stumble, then perhaps Allen would be seen as a formidable candidate for the Senate in 2008, if Warner retires. Any chance Allen might want to run for governor again in 2009? I don't know if there is a life time limit of 1 term, or if a governor can run a second time as long as it is not consecutively.
They might not have been that good, seeing as not enough people voted for them.
Already counted.
Im hoping the Dems piss Lieberman off enough for him to get fed up. But if he hasnt at this point after the way they have already treated him then he probably never will.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.