Election night roundup - U.S. Senate races

Following the pattern of much of the rest of the night, it's been a good night for Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Right now the majority stands at 54-40 (and 2 independents - Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, both of whom caucus with the Democrats), with several races still too close to call. A summary of the races and where they stand at this hour can be found here. [Note: the results characterized below come from the page I just linked]

In North Carolina tonight, we've seen the defeat of incumbent Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole by Democrat Kay Hagan. We've also seen Senator John Sununu (R-NH) be defeated by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. In addition, Democrats have added open seats in New Mexico and Colorado, with the election of cousins Tom and Mark Udall, respectively. And former Virginia governor Mark Warner was elected to the open Senate seat in that state.

However, at this hour, there are still several races that are too close to call.

In Alaska, convicted felon Ted Stevens is hanging on to a very small lead over the Democratic Mayor of Anchorage, Mark Begich. With 66% of the precincts reporting, Stevens has a 3113 vote lead, as of the time of this post.

In Georgia, with 98% of the precincts reporting, incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss holds a 140,068 vote lead over Democrat Jim Martin.

In Minnesota, Al Franken leads embattled Republican Senator Norm Coleman, in the fight to take back the seat that once belonged to progressive champion, the late Paul Wellstone. Franken's lead, with 96% of the precincts reporting, is 1065 votes.

And closer to home, in Oregon, Bush rubberstamp Gordon Smith clings to a slim margin with 45% of precincts reporting, over Democrat Jeff Merkley, with a 2594 vote lead.

More on the U.S. Senate races later, as results become more clear.