AP Calls Virginia for Webb, Dems Celebrate Reported Senate -- and Congress -- Win
Nov. 9, 2006 — -- A Virginia GOP official confirms to ABC News that Senator Allen will concede the race during a press conference scheduled for 3 o'clock eastern time this afternoon.
Yesterday an Associated Press survey tabulated the votes from Virginia's 134 localities and 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 AP 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 independent call of the race by the AP -- a national consortium of news organizations -- will not affect the Virginia Board of Elections' tally.
"I'm going to leave predictions to pundits, and we're going to stick to the process and make sure the votes are tabulated accurately," James Alcorn, senor policy adviser for the Virginia Board of Elections, told ABC News.
Canvassing in Stafford County, Va., appears to have yielded some good news for the Allen camp.
Alcorn said he spoke to the precinct general registrar in Stafford County and learned Wednesday afternoon that Webb was expected to lose 1,312 votes there because of a human error.
Precinct officials had declared 1,969 votes for Webb late Tuesday night after a long count, Alcorn said. On Wednesday morning when they checked it again, the actual count proved to be 657.
Alcorn said it was the largest chunk of potentially swung votes he'd heard of yet.
Late Wednesday, the Allen camp issued "no comments" in response to the AP report.
