A filibuster-proof majority in the Senate remains an uphill climb for Democrats. The road to 60 seats now winds through an Anchorage election office, a Georgia runoff, the Minnesota courts and, ultimately, a tense caucus meeting in which Democrats must deal with renegade Sen. Joe Lieberman.
ALASKA RECOUNT
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, a Democrat, increased his lead to 1,022 votes ahead of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on Friday night after officials tallied 17,100 more votes. The 25,000 remaining votes will be counted Tuesday. Final results are expected Wednesday. Even if Stevens wins reelection, he faces expulsion for his recent felony conviction for not reporting more than $250,000 in gifts.
GEORGIA REDO
A Dec. 2 runoff election will decide the fate of Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who led the vote tally over former state Rep. Jim Martin, a Democrat, but did not clear the required 50 percent mark. Turnout for the runoff could be much lower than the 67 percent of voters who cast ballots Nov. 4, and both campaigns are pulling out all of the stops to get voters to the polls.
LIEBERMAN SWITCH?
Some Democrats want to punish Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who caucuses with them, for his support of the GOP presidential ticket by stripping his chairmanship of a key committee. Lieberman has balked at such a move, amid whispers that he would instead caucus with Republicans. The decision on Lieberman's fate is expected Tuesday.
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