by Lisa Keen
THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 3:10 p.m. – Republican U.S. Senator George Allen of Virginia conceded the election to his Democratic challenger Jim Webb this afternoon, giving Democrats the 51 seats they need to assume control of the Senate next January.
Democrats won enough seats in the House by Tuesday evening to ensure their control of the House. By Wednesday morning, Democrats had secured all but two seats to take the Senate. By early Wednesday, however, newcomer Jon Tester was declared the winner of his contest against Republican incumbent Conrad Burns in Montana, leaving only the Virginia race to determine who would control the Senate.
Allen, who trailed Webb in the initial vote count by only 7,000 votes –less than three one-thousandths of a percentage point– said in a press conference at 3 p.m. that he would not seek a recount.
Control of the Senate is especially important to the LGBT community because of its critical role in confirming U.S. Supreme Court nominees.
Allen, whose hostile voting record on gay legislation earned him the worst score -zero–from the Human Rights Campaign, had been considered a shoo-in for re-election this year. But, fairly late in the campaign, he publicly referred to an opposition campaign worker of Indian descent with the derisive term "Macaca." As he tried to fend off claims that the remark showed him to be racist, former classmates from college began recalling instances in which they had heard him use other derisive terms for people of color.
