They've been counting the absentee & provisional ballots in Alaska, and Mark Begich now leads Ted Stevens by 814 votes. According to the smart folks at www.fivethirtyeight.com, the outstanding ballots come from Dem-friendly districts, so Begish will likely extend this lead.
They were probably thinking that at least if he won, he could be replaced with a Republican instead of letting the Democrat win and then they would have no other option!