Make That Former Senator Ted Stevens

By John Nichols, TheNation.com. Posted November 18, 2008.

Felon Senator Ted Stevens has apparently lost his seat representing Alaska, and Democrats have moved one seat closer to a filibuster-proof majority in the upper chamber of the Congress.

Two weeks after the November 4 election, with all but a handful of ballots counted, the Associated Press declared that Democrat Mark Begich had defeated Stevens, the senior Senate Republican who was convicted just before the election on seven felony counts of hiding illegal gifts from an Alaska contractor.

After a long day of counting in Alaska Tuesday, Begich led by 3,724 votes. AP labeled this "an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted" and identified the Democrat as the winner.

The victory by Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, makes him the 58th member of the Senate Democratic Caucus. (That's 56 Democrats, Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders and Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman -- who on Tuesday was effectively welcomed back into the caucus by members who allowed the backer of Republican John McCain to retain his chairmanship of the powerful Homeland Security Committee.)

Could Democrats make it to 60 seats, thus positioning the party to override Republican procedural moves to block legislation and approve Obama administration nominations?

In a word: Yes.

Democrat Al Franken is still locked in a Minnesota recount fight with Republican Senator Norm Coleman. If Franken wins, as is very possible, that would be seat 59.

Democrat Jim Martin gets another shot at Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. If Franken wins that uphill but doable race, that would be seat 60.

Democrats went into the 2008 competition with a 51-49 split in the Senate.

Democratic candidates took seats where Republican incumbents were stepping down in Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia. And they beat Republican incumbents in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon and, now, Alaska.

The Stevens win is a sweet one for Democrats, who had expected to displace the convicted senator only to see the felon finish ahead in the count on election night. Begich pulled ahead as early votes and so-called "questioned ballots" were counted. And there is now little doubt that the Democrat will be seated. That's good news for Begich's fellow partisans and for Senate Republicans, who will now be relieved of the burden of kicking Stevens out of their caucus.

See more stories tagged with: ted stevens, mark begich

John Nichols is The Nation's Washington correspondent.

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