The State of the Senate

by Eyck Freymann


Barack Obama won a historic victory on Tuesday, but we are still unclear about how large a majority his Democratic party will have in the Senate. 60 votes are needed to pass many resolutions and end filibusters, and that is the number the Democrats had in mind going into this election. Although their chances of gaining such a majority are small, there are still three seats in play which could enlarge the Democrats' current 57-43 advantage. Continued: Click "Read More"

1. Georgia - In accordance with my prediction, neither candidate finished over 50% in this race. Incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss won narrowly, but will face Democratic State Senator Jim Martin in a December runoff. McCain and Palin have both announced that they will campaign for Chambliss. Expect this race to be bitterly fought; Chambliss won his seat in 2002 by comparing Democrat Max Cleland, a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran, to Osama bin Laden.
   
2. Minnesota - We all knew this would be close. Democrat Al Franken, author and talk show host, competes with Republican Senator Norm Coleman for Paul Wellstone's old seat. As it stands, Coleman leads by 230 votes. A recount will occur in the next two to three weeks, and it appears that uncounted provisional and absentee ballots will favor the Democrats. Whoever wins will do so by less than 1000 votes, and possibly less than 100. 
3. Alaska - Republican Ted Stevens is, I believe, the longest serving senate Republican in history. Two weeks ago he was convicted on seven felony counts of bribery and perjury, but nevertheless is engaged in a tossup race with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Strongly outperforming poll numbers, Stevens (the former Technology committee chair who taught us that "the internet is not like a dump truck" and is in fact "a series of tubes") currently leads by 3000 votes with tens of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still uncounted. If Stevens wins, expect the Senate Republicans to oust him and Sarah Palin to appoint herself to the seat. 

Right now, the Republicans have slight edges in all three of these races. But late-counted ballots always trend Democratic, and Obama could potentially see more increases in his congressional majorities in the weeks ahead. The only question: what will he do with them?