Incumbent Ted Stevens , the Senate’s longest-serving Republican conceded Wednesday that he lost his re-election to Democrat Mark Begich.“Given the number of ballots that remain to be counted, it is apparent the election has been decided and Mayor Begich has been elected,” Stevens said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Begich, mayor of Anchorage, led Stevens by 3,724 votes with an estimated 2,500 votes outstanding as of late Tuesday. Begich received 150,728 votes, or 47.76 percent, versus 147,004 votes, or 46.58 percent for Stevens, out of 307,587 votes recorded.
Long before Stevens issued his statement, Begich had claimed victory and the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, had said he was resigned to losing that seat.
Still, despite the Alaska decision, there remains "Indecision 2008" in two more Senate races. Also, governors in Illinois and Deleware are still to name replacements for the seats vacated by President-elect Obama and VP-elect Biden.
Jon Stewart won this bet with a friend with his take on the Georgia recount. He also recapped the situation in Alaska and the still developing re-count in Minnesota. If the Democrats were to carry both Minnesota and Georgia's Senate contests, they would have (when combined with 2 in
dependents) the 60-vote filibuster-proof majority.In all seriousness, there are some changes within the Democratic congressional leadership.
House Democrats on Thursday handed Henry A. Waxman of California the gavel of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, toppling veteran Chairman John D. Dingell of Michigan.
The 137-122 Democratic Caucus vote was viewed as a referendum on the party’s future approach to energy and climate policy, as well as a test of the seniority system the party has long used to select committee chairmen and ranking members.
The article gives good insight to the inner-workings of Congressional leadership that often, but not always, defers to senority. The Energy and Commerce Committee may have even more importance given the current auto industry crisis.
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