Senate majority for the Democrats

Per CNN, Sources: Allen to concede, giving Senate control to Dems

Republican George Allen of Virginia will concede the election for his U.S. Senate seat to Democratic challenger Jim Webb Thursday, sources close to the senator said Thursday.

A victory for Webb will give the Democrats control of the Senate, as well as the House of Representatives.

Allen scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. ET. Webb has scheduled an appearance with reporters at 4:15.

Even before any formal concession had been made, Republicans were resigned to facing a Democratic majority next year, one GOP member said Thursday.

“I think if you ask any Republican in Congress right now, they’re working under the assumption that they’ll be in the minority in both the House and the Senate,” New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu told CNN.

In the last unsettled race of the 33 Senate contests on Tuesday’s ballots, Allen trailed Webb, a former Secretary of the Navy, by 8,805 votes, the Virginia Board of Elections announced Thursday afternoon.

The gap grew from the roughly 7,200 votes Wednesday after 55 of Virginia’s 134 electoral districts completed their canvasses of the results.

A Webb win would put the new Senate lineup at 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans and two independents — Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut — who have said they would caucus with the Democrats. That would give the Democrats the 51 votes they need to claim a majority for the first time since 2001.

The gap between Webb and Allen — once considered a 2008 presidential contender — is about a third of 1 percent of the 2.3 million votes cast, making a recount a possibility. And Sununu said that if he were in Allen’s position, he probably would seek a recount for everyone’s peace of mind.

But he added, “The size of the margin is unlikely to change in any significant way.”

“I think it is a margin that will probably hold up,” he said.

Webb declared victory early Wednesday, and The Associated Press declared him the winner Wednesday night. CNN has not projected a winner in Virginia.

Democratic challengers knocked off five other Republican incumbents in Tuesday’s Senate races and won 29 seats in the House of Representatives to claim control of that chamber for the first time since 1994.

Allen’s news conference is scheduled for 3PM ET.