Another day of vote counting in Alaska today, although it won't all be finished until at least Tuesday. The trends and the places where votes remain to be counted look good for Begich:
More than half the absentee and questioned ballots still to be counted in Alaska's U.S. Senate race come from areas of the state that backed Democrat Mark Begich on Election Day.Vote totals will be updated here. The last update was on Wednesday at 7:33 PM Alaska time. Expect new numbers soon.
That's not a good sign for Republican Sen. Ted Stevens as he seeks to overcome Begich's 814-vote lead when counting resumes today of just over 41,000 remaining ballots. A Daily News analysis, based on data provided by the state Division of Elections, shows that 56 percent of those ballots come from districts that favored Begich on Nov. 4.
The state will count about 40 percent of remaining ballots today and the rest early next week. Democrats like the trend but are wary of expressing too much confidence in a state that for decades has proven a graveyard for their hopes.
"I'll celebrate when I hear the words ... 'and the winner is,' " Begich said.
The Stevens campaign has fallen silent, offering no comment on the ballot count. Republican Party of Alaska Chairman Randy Ruedrich said he's still a believer in a Stevens victory, and he argues it's not all about which districts the votes come from.
This could mean one more Democratic Senator. And, Begich is actually a Democrat who calls himself a Democrat. This shows even Ted Stevens isn't infallible. Most Democrats will be ecstatic, but, Joe Lieberman will probably be disappointed. If Begich wins, it short circuits Sarah Palin's hopes of getting into the Senate soon. Lieberman was a surrogate for Palin -- even as she fomented negativity and accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists." Lieberman palled around with Palin. That alone should disqualify him from the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee. There must be consequences.
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