Alaska’s Senator Ted Stevens, a.k.a. “Uncle Ted,” lost his job to Mark Begich yesterday and all he may have to do in the near future is appeal his felony conviction.

Begich, Anchorage’s Democratic mayor, had 3,724 votes in front of Stevens in yesterday’s count. Given the fact that there are only 2,500 ballots to cont from overseas, Begich’s lead is overwhelming.

"I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the U.S. Senate," said Begich after learning that he had won.

“Uncle Ted’s” defeat came right on his 85th birthday. Ted Stevens was the longest serving Republican in the history of the U.S. Senate. He dominated the politics in the state of Alaska for nearly 40 years.

Overall, the democrats are only two seats away from getting a 60-vote majority in the Senate. Depending on the outcome of the contest in the state of Georgia and Minnesota, the democrats could attain a 60-seat majority that would enable them to overcome Republican filibusters. The Democrats currently have 58 seats, including two independents that caucus with them, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT).

Senator Ted Stevens would ask for a recount of the ballots, but it would cost his campaign a lot of money and it has little chance of making a difference. Most recounts in Alaska showed little change from the initial count.

“Uncle Ted” has lost a great deal of popularity especially in the urban area of the state and especially after he was convicted of seven felonies for lying on his financial disclosure forms. Ted Stevens received about $250,000 in gifts from Veco Corp.’s Bill Allen and lied about it.