Allen, Webb in tight finish

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RICHMOND -- Republican Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James H. Webb Jr. were locked in a razor-thin race in Virginia last night as the nation watched to see whether the contest would change which party controls the Senate.

The race was too close to call and seemed to be headed for a recount. Mr. Webb, a Vietnam War veteran who served as President Reagan's Navy secretary, held a lead of 7,815 votes as of 2:30 a.m., and declared victory before several hundred supporters.

All but 9 of 2,443 precincts had been counted. "I would like to say the votes are in and we won," the former Marine said with a huge smile. "This is a great moment for all of us that believe in an inclusive society and all of us that believe we need to bring true economic fairness back to economic system."

Mr. Allen had no plans to concede, and reminded supporters gathered for him here in Richmond that he has won close elections before.

"The first time I ever won an election ... it was 18 votes. We had to have a recount," Mr. Allen said, to huge cheers from those who were still left in the room at about 12:30 a.m.

"So, the point of the matter is, we're still counting votes." In that 1983 race for a House of Delegates seat, Mr. Allen ultimately won by less than 30 votes.

He later went on to be a member of Congress and governor, and then unseated Democratic Sen. Charles S. Robb in 2000.

"I know the counting will continue through the night, it will continue tomorrow," he said. "I know you are going to be like a bunch of eagles and hawks watching how everyone one of these votes are accurately counted."

It will take weeks before the results are certified, and the margin is highly likely to change as volunteers canvas the tallies and triple check their math in each precinct.

After that, the loser can request a recount if the margin remains less than 1 percent. Secretary of State Jean Jensen, a nonpartisan official who works under Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, will be in the spotlight tomorrow to explain the process.