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MT-SEN: Media Declares Tester Winner — One More Seat To Go
And then there was one? The MSNBC, the Associated Press, and the Billings Gazette are all calling the Montana Senate race for Dem Jon Tester. Tester will give his victory speech at 11 a.m. Mountain Time, according to the Gazette. His current lead is now beyond even the 0.5% margin under which the Burns campaign could opt to pay for a recount. Burns hasn't conceded, but if and when he gives up and makes that difficult congratulatory call to Tester, that will leave one last GOP Senator — George Allen — between Dems and control of the Senate.
Update: The Times calls it for Tester, too.
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Whew...that was a close one. Good thing close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, lol. :-D
Now all that is needed is George Macaca Allen to give up the ghost and concede in VA...
November 8, 2006 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Webb is the winner in Virginia. Allen needs to step aside to let America move forward.
November 8, 2006 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Much as I want the answer now I believe that Democrats and Webb should be patient and let the process work itself out. Watch carefully but be patient. I want Webb to be seen as the legitimate winner, no cloud over him.
November 8, 2006 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, but that old cloud never seemed to bother our appointed president. 8,000 + votes are extremely unlikely to be "found" when the recount is from electronic voting machines. I'm glad they're actually going to include the absentee ballots, though, since I went to some trouble to get one for my daughter.
I really do think that Allen should acknowledge that it was down to the wire, but he lost. Since he was such a bad lawyer before he found the sinecure of elected office, I don't know what he'll do for money, but probably as the son of the Redskins coach, he can land a job on K Street. Maybe he can write a book refuting his sister's. Bottom line - he is out of a job!
Frankly, I am amazed! I couldn't watch; I turned the lights out when Allen was leading last night, and I had bad dreams all night long. I fully expected Allen to pull it off. I guess two very good Democratic governors in a row here in Virginia have given these "red" state voters an opportunity to think about what really is best for our state and country.
Jan Knaus
November 8, 2006 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jim Webb learned Al Gore's lesson. It's become conventional wisdom, and one that I basically agree with, that by asserting victory at the stage he did, Bush framed the Florida outcome in such a way that Gore's recount efforts looked like "trying to steal the election," and that Gore should have asserted his own victory in order to seize the momentum on the recount process. Given that he clearly has the lead, Webb is showing he's a winner.
November 8, 2006 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
In effect, Webb is having it both ways.
He has said that he won and is proceeding as though he has. The Washington Post this morning on page 1 is writing about Harry Reid as the next Senate Majority Leader.
Yet, unlike Bush in 2000, he is doing nothing to obstruct the automatic re-canvassing process, while having his people monitor it aggressively for any signs of shenanigans.
So there will be neither a cloud hanging over Webb when it's officially over, nor will he lose any time preparing himself for what lies ahead.
November 9, 2006 8:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, those two governors would not have made it into office if Virginia's demographics were not rapidly changing. Allen was ahead all night, until the results from northern Virginia came in. The D.C. suburbs are a rapidly-growing area, increasingly cosmopolitan, thanks to an influx of new residents originally from other parts of the nation and the world. It was they who tipped the balance for Gov. Kaine last year, and they pulled off a repeat performance for Webb this year. Northern Virginia is changing the state, making it trend toward the Democrats. I, for one, expect to see Virginia get bluer in the coming years as this area continues to grow.
November 9, 2006 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink