Democrats Senate win certain says AP

An Associated Press survey that tabulated the votes from Virginia's 134 localities has found that Democrat James Webb will win the state's U.S. Senate contest, giving Democrats the sixth seat they need to win control of the Senate and Congress.

The campaign of Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen has not commented on the AP report, but sources suggest he might concede the race as early as today.

The AP contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday.

About half the localities said they had completed their post-election 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.

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