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sinboyNews is now out that convicted felon Ted Steven of Alaska lost his seat. Stevens was running for his seventh term, and was one of the most senior Republicans in the senate.
Democrats are now two seats away from a filibuster proof majority. The two remaining contested races are between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) in Minnesota, and Saxby Chambliss (R) and Jim Martin (D) of Georgia. The Coleman Franken race is just a recount. The Chambliss Martin race might well be a runoff election, in which case Obama's popularity might help Martin significantly. Not to mention any mobilization of the Obama get-out-the-vote groups.
Personally, I'm skeptical either race will result in another Democratic Senate seat, but it's possible. I'm actually more hopeful of a Franken victory, because they're seperated by a little over 200 votes, and a recount in Minnesota actually attempts to count voters intent, so less ballots will be discarded or invalidated, and more might be actually counted that weren't due to a misinterpretation of instructions.
As for Georgia, I don't have as much hope. A runoff election might be a good thing for Democrats, but I don't see it as necessarily being a good thing. It could just as well be a good thing for Republicans.
If we do see a filibuster proof majority, the political landscape will be seriously altered, and there will be huge movement to unify the Democratic Party on certain issues they know Republicans will be wanting to block by filibuster.
It's also worth noting that, while Republicans were in power before 2006, they didn't have a filibuster proof majority, but they threatened to change the rules to end filibusters forever. That was in regards to proposed filibusters of judicial appointments.
Democrats are now two seats away from a filibuster proof majority. The two remaining contested races are between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) in Minnesota, and Saxby Chambliss (R) and Jim Martin (D) of Georgia. The Coleman Franken race is just a recount. The Chambliss Martin race might well be a runoff election, in which case Obama's popularity might help Martin significantly. Not to mention any mobilization of the Obama get-out-the-vote groups.
Personally, I'm skeptical either race will result in another Democratic Senate seat, but it's possible. I'm actually more hopeful of a Franken victory, because they're seperated by a little over 200 votes, and a recount in Minnesota actually attempts to count voters intent, so less ballots will be discarded or invalidated, and more might be actually counted that weren't due to a misinterpretation of instructions.
As for Georgia, I don't have as much hope. A runoff election might be a good thing for Democrats, but I don't see it as necessarily being a good thing. It could just as well be a good thing for Republicans.
If we do see a filibuster proof majority, the political landscape will be seriously altered, and there will be huge movement to unify the Democratic Party on certain issues they know Republicans will be wanting to block by filibuster.
It's also worth noting that, while Republicans were in power before 2006, they didn't have a filibuster proof majority, but they threatened to change the rules to end filibusters forever. That was in regards to proposed filibusters of judicial appointments.