The Last Two Senate Races

It's nearly 9 p.m. in Georgia, and we're getting an idea of the mountain Democrats must climb if they're going to achieve the much lauded "filibuster-proof" majority in the Senate.

They've counted about 52% of the ballots in Georgia's runoff between incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and his Democratic challenger, Jim Martin.

Turnout was "light," says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But it looks like the Republicans did a better job of getting their voters to the polls than the Democrats did.

No winner has been projected yet. Earlier in the evening, Chambliss had 65% of the vote, but his advantage has dropped to about 59% — which, at this stage, still means a lead of more than 210,000 votes.

And the news also looks good for Republicans in Minnesota — where the other unresolved Senate race is trying to wind up its state law-mandated recount.

In Minnesota, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman now leads challenger Al Franken by 301 votes with about 93% of the ballots counted. As slim as that margin is, it's wider than the one Coleman held after the initial count on Election Day.