Begich Pads Lead Over Stevens In Alaska As Ballot Counting Continues

Democratic challenger Mark Begich has increased his lead over embattled Republican Ted Stevens (pictured here) in Alaska following additional vote counting today. As of now, Begich leads by 2374 votes, up from about 1000 over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.

There can't be too many votes left to count, although overseas ballots received by tomorrow will be counted.

At this point, we think it's safe to say that Begich has won the seat, which probably means Stevens will avoid a vote on whether to expel him from the Senate due to his conviction on federal felony corruption charges.