Democrats "captured four of the six Republican-held seats they needed to take control of the Senate, winning critical contests in Ohio, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Missouri, and inched closer Wednesday to erasing the GOP's majority." Democrats also "mounted challenges for two remaining Republican-held seats in Virginia and Montana -- and were ahead in both. But in Virginia, Democratic challenger James Webb's lead over Republican incumbent George Allen was razor thin and a recount was likely." Both parties "dispatched lawyers to Virginia to tally uncounted absentee ballots Wednesday, as well as canvass votes counted on Election Day."

With 99.75% of precincts reporting, Webb had 49.58 percent of the vote to Allen's 49.22 percent -- representing about 8,350 votes. In the wee hours of the morning, Democrat Jim Webb declared victory, "...the votes are in and we won." Allen, however, "had no plans to concede, and reminded supporters gathered for him here in Richmond that he has won close elections before. 'The first time I ever won an election...it was 18 votes. We had to have a recount,' Mr. Allen said."

In Montana, Democratic challenger Jon Tester leads Republican incumbent Conrad Burns 49.12% to 48.33% with 90% of precincts reporting.

Democrat Jim Webb has taken an eight point lead over Republican George Allen in the final poll of the 2006 campaign for U.S. Senate in Virginia.

The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, shows Webb with 52% of the likely voters, with 44% going to Allen. The five prior SurveyUSA tracking polls showed the race in a virtual dead heat -- with Allen slightly ahead.

University of Virginia law student and Marine, Mike Stark, was attacked today by staffers belonging to George Allen's campaign.  Mr. Stark, known for his "Calling All Wingnuts" blog that has revealed the hypocrisy and cowardice of right wing talk show hosts, had asked Allen questions at several campaign stops.  But today, as he was moving into position to ask Allen another question, he was grabbed and tackled by three Allen staffers.

Think Progress has the video.

The assault happened at a campaign event, and as the video clearly shows, Stark made no move to threaten either Allen or any of his staff previous to the attack.  In fact, Stark remains calm all through the assault, even as the men slam against a glass door and then to the ground.

Mike Stark has issued a letter signalling his outrage at this attack, and giving notice that he intends to file charges against those involved.

Senator George Allen greets President Bush onstage in Richmond, VA

Washington, DC (Rotters) - Perhaps in an effort to reverse the ill effect that he is having on Republican candidates nationwide, President Bush yesterday made appearances on behalf of Representative Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania and Senator George Allen of Virginia. Appearing during the president's proclaimed "National Character Counts Week", analysts speculated that Bush may be hoping the two Republicans character might become associated with him and further defuse a national crisis for the GOP's midterm election hopes.

With the president's disapproval ratings in most polls hovering in the mid-30s, and the majority of Americans expressing extreme dissatisfaction over his handling of the occupation of Iraq, the White House seemed to be trying to refocus the public on what they consider the president's strong points; personal integrity and his ability to judge character.

For the third time in a little over a month George Allen must face questions stemming from remarks and actions that demonstrate what could be politely termed racial intolerance, but in fact reek of old fashioned racism. According to a recently released article in Salon, Allen's former college teammates are now coming forward with tales of blatant racism that some, like Rush Limbaugh, will characterize as "college pranks,"  but clearly border on hate crimes. In one incident, Allen had his friends drive him to the local black neighborhood so he could take the severed head of a deer and stuff it into a mailbox.

While Allen's case may be extreme, it says something about what has happened to Republican Party. For some, it's been a game of "catch me if you can" with racism for years. Late night comics tell jokes about "how few Blacks Republicans there are," but the American people have known for years about the underlying truths behind those jokes. The Republican Party has increasingly become a home for racists of every stripe and the sooner that party starts to come to terms with that reality, the better.