AP: Webb Wins, Dems Take Control of Senate

The latest from the Associated Press declares that the Democratic party has gained control of the Senate with the winning of Democrat James Webb over Republican incumbent George Allen in Virginia. The AP's declaration that Webb has won is based on the following:

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.

George Allen has not conceded yet, but he might make an announcement as early as tonight. The loss of a historically Republican state such as Virginia is a stinging defeat for the Republicans.

Stay tuned, I'll updating as much as possible tonight.

You Rock Virginia!

[by the way, it's interesting that I heard this first on Aljazeera's 9PM EST broadcast, before CNN, FOX, or ABC had it on their websites]