With most of the remaining ballots counted in Alaska, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich appears to have unseated long-time Senator Ted Stevens, widening the Democrat’s lead to 3,724 votes. The new count pretty much closes the door on Mr. Stevens’ hopes of re-election. According to the latest official count by the Alaska Division of Elections, Mr. Begich has 150,728 and Mr. Stevens trails with 147,004.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York and chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, declared victory on Tuesday night:

“Mark Begich will be an outstanding senator for Alaska and the country,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “And with seven seats and counting now added to the Democratic ranks in the Senate, we have an even stronger majority that will bring real change to America.”

The Democrats’ apparent win in Alaska — though there are still some ballots to be counted — moved them closer to achieving a near 60-vote filibuster-proof count that would enable the majority to avoid the gridlock that has blocked the movement of legislation over the last few years. Two other critical Senate seats, in Minnesota and in Georgia, remain in contention.

Minnesota’s bitterly contested race, between incumbent Norman Coleman, a Republican, and Al Franken, the Democrat, is headed for a recount. Georgia’s surprisingly tight contest between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin, is bound for a runoff on Dec. 2, and has attracted headliners like G.O.P. presidential nominee John McCain and appearing tomorrow, former President Bill Clinton.

Mark Begich’s lead over Senator Stevens more than doubled on Tuesday, according to the latest tally of the vote in Alaska. Mr. Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, has pulled ahead of Mr. Stevens, the Republican incumbent, by 2,374 votes. Mr. Begich has 146,286 votes and Mr. Stevens, 143,912. But elections officials caution that there are still 7,700 additional absentee ballots to be counted today, so the numbers could change in a few hours.

Though elections officials in Alaska may be counting additional ballots for a few more days, the updated vote tally at the end of the day on Tuesday could move the contested race between Senator Ted Stevens and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich closer to conclusion.

The Division of Elections plans to count 24,000 absentee and questioned ballots from Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and other areas of southern Alaska today, and Wednesday is the deadline for overseas ballots to arrive.

Gail Fenumiai, the Alaska elections chief, said that her office planned to release an updated unofficial count by the end of the day on Tuesday, but cautioned that more ballots will be counted on Nov. 25.

The lead that Senator Stevens, the Republican, enjoyed over his Democratic challenger, Mr. Begich, after Election Day crumbled last week when the first batch of absentee ballots were counted. As of Friday Mr. Begich had 138,959 votes compared to 137,937 for Mr. Stevens — a difference of 1,022 votes.



The Achorage Daily News provides a district-by-district breakdown of the Senate vote.

But Mr. Stevens, who was convicted just over a week before the election on seven felony counts, could face another hurdle if he is re-elected. Many of his Senate colleagues – both Democrat and Republican – are pressing for his expulsion from Congress.

However, it appears that the Alaska senator was spared a potentially critical vote by the Senate Republican Conference to expel him, at least for now. Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, had intended to ask members of the conference to vote on such a resolution on Tuesday, released a statement today backing down.

“After talking with many of my colleagues, it’s clear there are sufficient votes to pass the resolution regarding Senator Stevens,” Mr. DeMint said in the statement. “The question now is timing. Some who support the resolution believe we should address this after the results of his election are confirmed in Alaska. For this reason, I will ask the conference to postpone the vote on Senator Stevens until Thursday.”

Though the race could be all but decided by Tuesday night, Ms. Fenumiai said that elections officials will count several classes of additional ballots on Nov. 25, including those from overseas. Could they tip the results of the Senate contest? It depends on how many there are — the state elections office plans to provide an estimate on Thursday — as well as where things stand at the end of today. Stay tuned.