As of this morning, it appears the Democrats have inched one seat closer to the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster on EFCA.  Right now, only 85% of the votes have been counted, but challenger Jeff Merkley (D) has passed incumbent Gordon Smith (R) by a thin margin -- with many Democrat-friendly precincts still outstanding.  The Oregonian is calling the race for Merkley.

If they are correct, that would give the Dems 55 seats, plus 2 Independents -- or at least 57 likely votes on cloture.

The three remaining races are still "up in the air":

Georgia:  Sen. Chambliss (R) has not yet conceded the point, but he appears to be headed for a required run-off with challenger Jim Martin (D).  Chambliss received 100,000 votes more than Martin, but his tally falls short of the required outright majority by 0.011%.   Voter turn-out for a possible December 2nd run-off, and the conduct of the 126,000 voters who cast ballots for Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, will dictate the results here.

Alaska:  Approximately 50,000 absentee, provisional and early ballots remain uncounted, and incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens (R) maintains a slim 4,000 vote lead over challenger Mark Begich (D).  No one is conceding.  The most interesting wrinkle in this race is that if Stevens wins, yet is forced to step aside due to his legal woes, it appears that Governor Sarah Palin (R) may have to call for a special election to fill the seat -- casting doubt on prompt resolution of this seat's future.

Minnesota:  State officials will begin the recount process some time in mid-November, meaning this race will not likely be resolved this month.  Most recent accounts place incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R) with a 475 vote edge over challenger Al Franken (DFL) -- with approximately 2.9 million votes cast.