The estimated number of ballots uncounted in the CA-04 congressional race - where Republican Tom McClintock currently leads Democrat Charlie Brown by the slimmest of margins - is now estimated at 50,000.
From the Brown campaign:
· Charlie Brown has won at least 3 of 9 counties in the CA 04 race-Sierra, Plumas, and Nevada. The district's two largest counties, Placer and El Dorado, are too close to call.
· The number of uncounted absentee and provisional ballots district-wide has RISEN to over 50,000, including thousands of provisional ballots.
Brown and McClintock are currently separated by less than 1,000 votes, so depending on where the uncounted ballots are from, Brown could win:
El Dorado and Placer counties are too close to call, and Butte, Sacramento, and Lassen counties have the fewest ballots out. That leaves Nevada County as the battleground---which Charlie won on election day with more than a 15% advantage.
So there's still plenty of hope for Brown; his campaign appears cautiously optimistic, provided they can ensure all ballots are counted.
Meanwhile, Virginia Democrat Tom Perriello has declared victory in VA-05, though Republican incumbent Virgil Goode has yet to concede:
With the canvassing process virtually complete in Virginia’s 5th district and attorney Tom Perriello (D) ahead of Rep. Virgil Goode (R) by nearly 750 votes, the Democratic challenger declared victory Friday afternoon.
"It looks like the outcome is now certain. We are going to win this race and pull off the upset," Perriello said.
Perriello said his campaign would now be moving into a transition phase and in that effort he has enlisted the help of former Rep. L. F. Payne (D-Va.), who held the seat from 1998 until retiring in 1996. Goode, then a Democrat, won the open seat and succeeded Payne.
It's within Goode's rights to ask for a recount.
But he's lost.
Savor the victory, and kiss one of the most hateful politicians in DC goodbye. No one deserves it more.