Begich surges into lead

(KTUU) ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The race for U.S. Senate took a dramatic turn Wednesday as the Division of Elections began counting early and absentee ballots.

After nearly 59,000 of the more than 90,000 outstanding votes were tallied, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich pulled into a lead of just 814 votes over Sen. Ted Stevens.

Throughout the day, each update from the DOE drew Begich closer, until around 3:30 p.m. his 3,200-vote deficit became a three-vote lead.

By the time they stopped counting votes for the day, Begich's lead stood at 814 votes out of more than 278,000 tallied so far. Potentially tens of throusands of ballots are left to be counted.

Begich has 132,196 votes (47.41 percent) and Stevens has 131,382 votes (47.12 percent).

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