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Election Day may have come and gone, but three Senate races are still being fought, and fought hard. If all three go the Democrats' way – an unlikely outcome, but certainly not an impossible one – it would give the party 60 seats in the Senate, a crucial number since it would mean Democrats have attained a filibuster-proof majority.

(One cautionary note for hopeful liberals: Even if Democrats reach the 60 seat threshold, their majority would include independent senator and John McCain backer Joe Lieberman, who has broken with his party on national security issues, as well as other relatively conservative Democrats who might not always vote with their party.)

Here's the latest on the three races.

Alaska:

For a while, it looked like 84-year-old Republican Ted Stevens had overcome his felony conviction to be reelected for an eigth term. But early and absentee ballots, which are still being counted, have now given a slim lead to Stevens' Democratic rival, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who says he is "cautiously optimistic" that he will prevail. (The latest count, as of late Wednesday: 132,196 to 131,382. A Stevens pollster reportedly suggested Thursday that Begich will prevail.)

If Stevens ultimately wins the race, he still faces the possibility of expulsion from the Senate due to his conviction. If that happens, there will be a special election in Alaska to replace the longtime Senator, and all eyes will be on former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a potential candidate.

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Lost in the shuffle on Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' indictment is that he's right smack in the midst not only of a reelection campaign, but also a primary. Even before Tuesday's news, the Senate’s longest-serving Republican who was first appointed to the Senate in 1968 was in the fight of his career with Anchorage's Democratic mayor Mark Begich. The latest post-indictment poll had Begish up by 13 points.

But looking ahead to November may be putting the cart before the horse. The 84-year old Stevens first has to survive the August 26 Republican primary, which may no longer be a slam-dunk.

Of Stevens' six GOP challengers, the strongest opponents appear to be David Cuddy or Vic Vickers. Cuddy, a real estate developer who also ran in 1996, has polled second to Stevens in surveys taken before the indictment. But it's Vic Vickers, a lawyer, writer, former banking regulator and Florida maritime company owner, who could be the real wild card. A political newcomer who moved to the state in January, Vickers said he plans to spend $750,000 of his own money on his campaign so that will get him attention. Stevens has $1.6 million in the bank, according to Congressional Quarterly.

Vickers said he had been coming to the state for years and decided to run for the senate while researching a book on corruption in Alaska's oil industry. In his television ad, Vickers stands in front of Stevens' house that was searched, saying he is running to "stop corruption" and won't accept special interest money.

"I think I can beat him. I'm confident I can," Vickers told the Anchorage Daily News.

Another note on this race is that the Anchorage Daily News points out that Stevens couldn't pull his name from the ballot for the primary even if he wanted to. But if he won the primary and then resigned by Sept. 18, the state party could pick a replacement for the November ballot.

And there's potential for a lot more drama in this race. How often in a campaign is one of the candidates on trial just six weeks before Election Day? But that will be on tap here if Stevens survives the primary. At his arraignment on Thursday, Stevens specifically asked the judge for a speedy trial that would be resolved before the election. And the judge obliged, setting Sept. 24 as a tentative date. So stay tuned.

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A day after the indictment of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the McCain campaign issued a statement saying Stevens is "entitled to a presumption of innocence" but noting that "Sen. McCain has fought loudly and often alone against corruption and wasteful spending."

The statement was issued this afternoon by McCain spokesperson Nicolle Wallace onboard the campaign's charter flight from Denver to Kansas City.

Read the full statement below:

“Like every American, Sen. Stevens is entitled to a presumption of innocence. Sen. McCain and Sen. Stevens have clashed famously over the appropriations process, which Sen. McCain views as broken and subject to the type of corruption that has caused voters to lose faith with Washington. And as Sen. McCain mentions on the campaign trail nearly daily, has resulted in former members of Congress residing in prison. Sen. McCain has fought loudly and often alone against corruption and wasteful spending and this is a sad reminder that the next president will have his work cut our for him in rebuilding public trust by ending once and for all pork barrel spending and by reforming the federal government from top to bottom.”

The string of scandals that have hit the Republican Party’s congressional wing for the past two years grew yesterday with the indictment of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens for failing to report gifts given to him by corporate executives of an oil company with deep ties in his state. The senator allegedly decided not to list some of the gifts, which supposedly included some tools, a grill and, oh yes, a new level on his house.

Veco, a now non-existent company, has been the central player in a bribery scandal that has rocked Alaska’s Republican political establishment and now threatens to extend its damage nationally. It seemed unthinkable even a few months ago that Democrats would be able to win enough seats to achieve a 60 vote (thus filibuster-proof) majority in the U.S. Senate. Not anymore.

The current Senate makeup holds 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans and two independents who caucus with the Democratic Party to give them control of the majority. There are 35 seats up this November, 23 held by Republicans and just 12 held by Democrats – almost all of them considered safe. Democrats need to win a net of nine seats to get to that magic number 60 (ten to neutralize the possibility of Independent Joe Lieberman deciding to caucus with the GOP, at least on some issues).

It’s a large amount of seats to take but events seem to be breaking all their way. Alaska has been one of the most reliably GOP states at the federal level for decades. While Democratic governors have proven popular, Republicans have had a stranglehold on the two senate seats and the one at-large house seat for decades. The indictment of Stevens, already facing a very tough re-election, could be the perfect storm Democrats have waited for in the state.

Other events have combined to give Democrats hope of big gains. Retirements in the key swing states of Colorado, Virginia and New Mexico have left those seats among the most vulnerable targets. Difficult fights await GOP incumbents in blue states like Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon and Maine. Add Alaska and the unpredictability of a special election in Mississippi and the numbers begin to add up.

What has to make Republicans all the more nervous is the prospect of potential coattails from the top of the ticket, which could endanger safer seats in a state like North Carolina. Yes, Democrats would have to run the table but with the possible exception of Louisiana, they have the advantage of being on the offense rather than defending their own. And in any “wave” election, there are some unexpected results (see the GOP Tsunami of 1994).

Stevens, who has proclaimed his innocence, couldn’t remove himself from the primary ballot next month even if he wanted to and he retains a reservoir of goodwill for the largess he has delivered the state in his 40 years in office. But even in Alaska, the GOP brand is looking shaky and that gives Democrats high hopes of winning even more than the White House this November.

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The attention last night was on Hillary Clinton's win over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary, but that was not the only contest to be decided. Voters across the state also voted in primaries for House candidates to run in the fall.

Of the state's 19 congressional districts, there were competitive primaries in four. The most competitive was the Republican primary in District 10, where businessman Chris Hackett beat businessman Dan Meuser 52 percent to 48 percent.

Hackett won in the Northeastern Pennsylvania district despite being heavily outspent by Meuser. Both candidates used their personal wealth in the campaign, totaling $2.6 million.

Hackett will face freshmen Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in November. In 2006, Carney was the first Democrat in four decades elected to Congress from the district when he beat scandal-ridden former Rep. Don Sherwood. Republicans will now be counting on Hackett to put the seat back in the Republican column.

Elsewhere in the state, Centre County GOP chairman Glenn Thompson won a nine-way race for the Republican nomination in the state's 5th district in Central Pennsylvania with 19 percent of the vote. Thompson will face off against Democratic primary winner Clearfield County Commissioner Mark McCracken. Thompson will be heavily favored in the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. John Peterson.

Also, businessman Steve O'Donnell won the Democratic primary in the 18th district outside Pittsburgh for the chance to run against Republican Rep. Tim Murphy. And Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper, the director of the Lake Erie Arboretum, won the right to challenge Republican Rep. Phil English in the 3rd district in northwest Pennsylvania.

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The attention last night was on Hillary Clinton's win over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary, but that was not the only contest to be decided. Voters across the state also voted in primaries for House candidates to run in the fall.

Of the state's 19 congressional districts, there were competitive primaries in four. The most competitive was the Republican primary in District 10, where businessman Chris Hackett beat businessman Dan Meuser 52 percent to 48 percent.

Hackett won in the Northeastern Pennsylvania district despite being heavily outspent by Meuser. Both candidates used their personal wealth in the campaign, totaling $2.6 million.

Hackett will face freshmen Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in November. In 2006, Carney was the first Democrat in four decades elected to Congress from the district when he beat scandal-ridden former Rep. Don Sherwood. Republicans will now be counting on Hackett to put the seat back in the Republican column.

Elsewhere in the state, Centre County GOP chairman Glenn Thompson won a nine-way race for the Republican nomination in the state's 5th district in Central Pennsylvania with 19 percent of the vote. Thompson will face off against Democratic primary winner Clearfield County Commissioner Mark McCracken. Thompson will be heavily favored in the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. John Peterson.

Also, businessman Steve O'Donnell won the Democratic primary in the 18th district outside Pittsburgh for the chance to run against Republican Rep. Tim Murphy. And Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper, the director of the Lake Erie Arboretum, won the right to challenge Republican Rep. Phil English in the 3rd district in northwest Pennsylvania.

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