CNN has finally projected that the Democrats have wrapped up at least 220 seats, two seats over the number needed to take the majority, making it sort of official.

Knock on wood, but it could happen. Since my previous Senate post, McCaskill made a huge swing to pull into a slim lead in Missouri (19% remaining to be counted). The GOP's Corker has defeated Ford in Tennessee, so the current count is GOP, 49-48. Democrat Tester looks solid in Montana with about half counted, so it comes down to this: McCaskill needs to hang on, and Webb – who smartly has declared victory – needs to win the inevitable recount in Virginia.

The odds of the Dems taking the Senate look slim. The count is 48-48, with four races still outstanding:

Virginia: Democrat Webb leads by a mere 2,265 votes, with 1% of the precincts yet to report. If his margin of victory is less than 1%, a recount will be automatic.

Missouri: Democrat McCaskill is in trouble; she's trailing by 4%. However, only 65% of the precincts have been reported. If those precincts still outstanding are from Kansas City and St. Louis, she could pull even.

Tennessee: Ford appears doomed; Republican Corker leads him 51-48, with only 6% of the boxes left. Unless all of those are in Memphis, Ford's barbecue is smoked.

Montana: Tester looks solid, even if only 30% have reported; he leads Republican Burns 54-44.

Congressman Lloyd Doggett had the following statement on tonight's election:

“Electing my friend Nancy Pelosi, as the first woman to serve as the Speaker of the House, will make history. More importantly, the extremist agenda that has driven Congress, since I was elected in 1994, has now become history. Hope can replace despair. We can slowly begin to repair some of the damage that has been done – like reversing the raid on student aid, raising the minimum wage, and demanding accountability from this Administration on Iraq, no-bid Halliburton contracts, and much more."

With 167 of 253 precincts reporting, Doggett is heading for re-election in the special election for the recently redistricted (yet again) Dist. 25 with 70% of the vote. He defeated three obscure opponents.

ABC News has projected that the Dems have the House in the bag; CNN says the current actual tally is Dems 158, GOP 134 (with 218 needed for a majority).

In the Senate, the current tally is Dems 47, GOP 46, with 51 needed for a majority the Dems to take control, but only 50 for the GOP to have the edge with VP Cheney's tie-breaker vote.

In the eight Senate races we've been watching:
Virginia: too close to call
Missouri: Talent(R) 52%, McCaskill(D) 44%, with 41% of precincts counted
New Jersey: CNN calls for Menendez(D)
Maryland: CNN calls for Cardin(D)
Tennessee: Corker(R) 52%, Ford(D) 47%, with 77% precincts
Rhode Island: CNN calls Whitehouse(D)
Arizona: Kyl(R)53%, Pederson(D) 44%, with 63% reporting
Montana: Tester(D) 54%, Burns(R) 44%, with 3% reporting

If the GOP holds onto their current leads in VA, MO, TN, and AZ, then the Dems come up short. We may not know who has won VA until the morning.

CNN just called the Maryland Senate seat for the Dems, one of the close races desperately needed by that party. The network just showed a graphic of races they've called, and it was overwhelmingly blue. (Which, if you've been living under a rock for the past eight years, is the color all the networks use to represent Dems, as opposed to Republican red. Say, at what point the official colors of the Communist Party become the Republicans' favorite color?)

And as I type this, they've just announced that Jim Yarmuth will oust incumbent Repub Anne Northrup in Kentucky.

Rhode Island's Senate seat was just called for the Dems, which is almost sad, because Repub Lincoln Chaffee was very moderate and actually opposed Bush on the war. I have to wonder whether he could have kept his job if he had switched parties.

The current seat count:
Senate (51 for a majority)
GOP 44
Dem: 43

House (218 for a majority)
GOP: 66
Dem: 83

CNN has called Ohio for Brown (expected) and Connecticut for Lieberman, who, despite the fact that he got kicked to the curb in the Democratic primary for his pro-war views and decided to run as an indie with huge Republican support, has said he'll caucus with the Dems.

On CNN, archconservative and guardian of our moral purity Bill Bennett said "You will see a movement to draft Rick Santorum for president in 2008."

Sorry Bill, but this election seems to cast doubt on whether Americans are prepared to elect a complete idiot for a third straight election.