With just 2,500 absentee ballots left to be counted, the Anchorage Daily News reports, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich pulled ahead of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens by 3,724 votes late yesterday -- an insurmountable lead that makes Begich the next senator of Alaska.

The loss came on Stevens' 85th birthday. The 40-year incumbent is the longest serving Republican in the history of the U.S. Senate.

Stevens could ask for a recount but his campaign would have to pay for it. The state pays if the margin is within .5 percent of the total votes cast. But Begich leads by just over 1 percent with more than 315,000 votes cast in the race.

Begich said it would be pointless for Stevens to request a recount. Since the state moved to mostly machine counting, recent Alaska recounts have resulted in little change in the final tally.

Begich said Tuesday evening that Stevens, who was in Washington, D.C., had not called him to concede the race or offer congratulations. "It's 9:30 D.C. time, so we might not hear tonight, maybe tomorrow," Begich said.

Stevens's loss means Senate Republicans will not need to worry about expelling one of their own members from Congress, as some said they would strongly consider doing. Stevens was convicted on seven felony counts just days before the election. Stevens leaves the Senate after 40 years of service -- he was appointed in December 1968 after spending four years in the state House.

The win for Begich means Democrats have now picked up seven Senate seats, giving them 58 total when counting independents Joe Lieberman (CT) and Bernie Sanders (VT), who caucus with the Dems. Seats in Minnesota (recount) and Georgia (Dec. 2 runoff) are still undecided.