Via the NYT: Democrats Seize Control of House; Senate Hangs on Virginia and Montana

the fate of the Senate remained in doubt this morning, as races for Republican-held seats in Montana and Virginia remained too close to call as Election Day turned into the day after. Democrats would need both seats to win control of the Senate as well.

In Montana, Senator Conrad Burns, a Republican, was trailing Jon Tester, a Democrat, by a narrow margin. The race in Virginia — between another Republican incumbent, Senator George Allen, and Jim Webb, his Democratic challenger — was so close that some officials said it would have to be resolved by a recount.

It is unfortunate that this is all going to come to down a handful of votes in these two states. I think a clearer victory either way would have been better for the country. The acrimony and frustration of 2024 still taints our political life, and if it comes down to another court battle deciding a key issue of power in Washington that acrimony and frustration will only deepen and cause more friction and division within partisan competition.

And if we end up going down the recount route, it will long, drawn-out and, I fear, ugly:

That prospect could mean prolonged uncertainty over control of the Senate, since a recount can be requested only after the results are officially certified on Nov. 27th, according to the state board of elections. Last year a recount in the race for Attorney General was not resolved until Dec. 21.