We're still waiting to hear more conclusive poll results from King and Pierce counties for the big races 'ê including governor, 8th Congressional District, and ballot initiatives such as Sound Transit's Proposition 1. In the meantime, here's a few potential upsets:
It was generally believed Republican Allan Martin would win the race for state treasurer thanks to the endorsement of retiring Democratic incumbent Mike Murphy. Surprisingly, Martin trails Democratic candidate Jim McIntire 52 percent to 48 percent, with 46 percent of precincts reporting. Keep an eye on this one.
If you were hoping Democratic candidate Gerry Pollet would pull off the upset of fellow Democrat Scott White in the 46th Legislative District, let's just say it's not over 'ê but it doesn't look good. White currently leads 71 percent to 29 percent, with 25 percent reporting.
In Oregon, the race between incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith and Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley is tied at 47 percent, with 54 percent of the vote counted. Still, large numbers of ballots in Multnomah County have yet to be counted. Considering Portland (which is in Multnomah County) is the state's biggest Democratic electorate, it appears Merkley may hang on and win.
Finally, the Minnesota Senate race between former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman will go to a recount, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Franken, a Democrat, has trailed for most of the race, but managed to gain in the polls after the stock markets nearly collapsed in September. Here's more:
With more than 95 percent of the returns in, Franken and Coleman were in a virtual tie well after midnight. A winning margin of less than one half of 1 percent -- now almost certain -- would trigger an automatic recount and could delay a result for days while ballots are retabulated across the state.
Coleman was leading in the suburbs and southern Minnesota, but Franken was ahead in two reliable DFL strongholds -- the central cities and Iron Range. A chunk of votes in Minneapolis and the Duluth area remained uncounted as this edition of the Star Tribune went to press.
Exit polls showed that Franken was helped by a wave of Democrats -- including large numbers of first-time voters -- who had already delivered the state's electoral votes to Democratic President-elect Barack Obama.
