Democrat Wins Montana Seat, Ties Senate
    The Associated Press

    Wednesday 08 November 2006

    Helena, Mont. - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns lost his job in a squeaker of a race Wednesday, thrust from office due to his own gaffes, his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a determined campaign by Democrat Jon Tester, a farmer.

    Tester's win gave Democrats at least half the U.S. Senate, but the party still needed a victory in a tight Virginia race to gain control.

    Burns, 71, first elected in 1988 as a folksy, backslapping outsider, has been under siege because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and because of his own gaffes - including an incident in which he cursed at firefighters.

    With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Tester had 198,032 votes, or 49.1 percent, to Burns' 194,904 votes, or 48.3 percent.

    A candidate in Montana can request a recount at his own expense if the margin is within half of a percent, which would be a margin of roughly 2,000 votes in the Senate race. If the margin is less than one-quarter of a percent, the state and counties pick up the tab.

    "I think we've got this thing won, it's just a matter of getting it to play out," Tester said Wednesday morning.

    Burns declined to comment on the race as he left the Billings hotel where his supports were gathered, saying only that he was headed home to be near family.

    Tester, a state senator who runs an organic farm, had hammered Burns during the campaign for his ties to Abramoff and what Tester called the "culture of corruption" in Washington.

    Burns was a top recipient of campaign contributions from Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January to corruption. Burns has since returned or donated about $150,000, and has maintained he did nothing wrong and was never influenced by Abramoff.