A teeny tiny hat tip toward AmericaBlog for this. Hotline is a rather reputable source, with some inside-the-beltway knowledge, and they say the GOP is going to push George Allen to resign.
Senior Republican officials and White House aides believe that Webb won the race. Several outside advisers to Allen want him to make the decision quickly; others in his campaign want to make sure that there’s no chance a cache of new votes will turn up. One question: when will (will?) the AP call the race?
Funny they should ask that. The answer is: right about now. Caught this one while watching Olbermann on MSNBC, the Associated Press has called the race for Jim Webb, giving the Democrats an official majority in the Senate.
The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.
The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.
…
The adviser said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.
Boom, baby.
