Notable upsets in tight Senate races
Live from St. Paul, it's Tuesday night.
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, satirist and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken has taken the lead in the Minnesota race against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, with 45 percent of the vote in favor of Franken to Coleman's 39 percent and 5 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.
The Minnesota race is one of a number of closely-watched and crucial Senate races, as Republicans look to hold on to much-needed seats and the Democrats look to increase their majority in the Senate to 60 seats, enough to prevent Republicans from filibustering. According to CNN, the Democrats have 54 seats and the Republicans have 36 with 10 races still in play.
The Democrats have picked up a few decisive wins tonight, including upsets in North Carolina by Kay Hagan and New Hampshire by Jean Shaheen, who ran against Republican incumbent John Sununu once before in 2002. In Virginia, Mark Warner beat Republican incumbent Jim Gilmore with 63 percent of the vote in favor of the Democratic challenger and 82 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.
In New Mexico, Tom Udall defeated Republican Steve Pearce, shifting the party in power in that state. Both candidates were vying for the seat vacated by Republican Pete Domenici, who had to retire due to a serious illness.
Key players in the Republican Party remain, however. James Inhofe, R.-Okla., won with 56 percent of the vote according to The Associated Press. In Texas, incumbent John Cornyn is in the lead over opponent Rick Noriega, with 53 percent of the vote in favor of Cornyn, according to The Associated Press. The Texas race has yet to be called.
One of the most-watched races of the evening has been taking place in Georgia, where Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss is looking to keep his seat and avoid a runoff election. With the possibility of Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley garnering enough of the votes to split the remainder between Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, Chambliss will need at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff between the two top candidates. The race has not been called yet, but The Associated Press has Chambliss leading with 56 percent of the vote and 62 percent of precincts reporting.