Republican Senator Conrad Burns has lost his Montana seat to a Democratic challenger, giving Democrats control of at least half of the Senate, and leaving open the possibility of Republicans losing control of both houses of Congress. Democrat Jon Tester s victory was announced late Wednesday morning, and put him ahead of Burns by a slim margin. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Tester had 198,032 votes, or 49.1 percent, to Burns 194,904 votes, or 48.3 percent. While the state seat was declared for Tester, and there have been no calls for a recount yet, state law provides that a losing candidate can request a recount at his own expense if the margin is within one-half of a percent, or roughly 2,000 votes. Meanwhile, both parties awaited the results of a race still to close to call in Virginia. Democrat challenger Jim Webb has claimed victory, but with only 8,000 votes out of more than 2 million ballots cast separating him from incumbent Republican Senator George Allen, a recount was a virtual certainty. A win in Virginia would give the Democrats control of both chambers of Congress for the first time since 1994. If a recount favored Allen, the Senate would split 50-50 and Vice President Dick Cheney in his constitutional role as president of the Senate could give Republicans the extra vote they need to retain control. There are no automatic recounts in Virginia, but state law allows a candidate who finishes within a half-percentage point to request a recount paid for by state and local governments. With a margin greater than that, but less than 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate can still seek a recount, but must pay the costs if the results are unchanged. A recount could not begin until after the State Board of Elections certifies the results on November 27. The losing candidate has 10 days after that to request a recount.
