In Alaska, as votes are counted "Mark Begich gaining ground against incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens"

UPDATE: Begich just pulled ahead of Stevens.

Still a lot of votes to be counted in Alaska's Senate race, but the early numbers look good. From the Anchorage Daily News:

It's just getting started, but early results from this afternoon's ballot counting in the contest for U.S. Senate show Mark Begich gaining ground against incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens.

The elections division still has tens of thousands of ballots left to count today and even more next week, but the latest numbers show Stevens' lead is down to 971 votes.

The new numbers, reflecting nearly 28,000 newly counted absentee ballots, are from all over the state. Election night, Stevens led the Democratic Begich by about 3,000 votes.

A Begich win will knock the convicted felon out of the Senate before he gets expelled -- and will also keep Sarah Palin out of the Senate for the near future.