Republican concedes US Senate race

The Republican candidate for the Senate in Virginia conceded defeat today, ending a longshot bid that almost turned into a shocking upset.
The race was one of three still undecided after Tuesday's vote in which Republicans seized control of the Senate and expanded their majority in the House of Representatives in what was widely seen as a backlash against President Barack Obama.
Virginia was a sign of the magnitude of the Republican wave. Incumbent Mark Warner, a popular centrist, was considered a sure-thing for re-election. But his Republican rival, Ed Gillespie, came within a percentage point of winning.
Gillespie conceded to Warner, saying he would not seek a recount even though he was entitled to one. "The votes just aren't there," Gillespie told his supporters, adding that he called Warner earlier in the day to congratulate him.

Warner's victory gives Democrats 46 seats to Republicans' 52, with two races undecided. Votes are still being tallied in Alaska and Louisiana is headed to a December 6 runoff.
Republican Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, conceded the race in Virginia this afternoon and said he would not seek a recount in the tight race even though state law entitled him to one.

"The votes just aren't there," Gillespie told his supporters, adding that he called Warner earlier in the day to congratulate him.
The latest numbers from the State Board of Elections show Warner leading by more than 16,000 votes, or nearly a percentage point, out of more than 2 million ballots cast.

Warner has 49 per cent of the vote, Gillespie has 48 per cent and Libertarian Robert Sarvis has 2 per cent.
Warner, a former governor who is one of Virginia's most popular politicians, had been expected to handily win a second term. But Gillespie, rode a wave of support for Republican candidates nationwide, and almost knocked Warner out of the Senate despite being outspent heavily.
Yesterday, Warner told reporters he was confident that his lead would hold up. He said it would be unprecedented in Virginia for such a lead to evaporate in either the canvass, as the formal counting process is called, or a recount.

Warner said he was focusing now on his next term, which would begin in January, and planned to promote a centrist agenda that could attract bipartisan support.