Democrat takes lead in Alaska Senate race Just as Sen. Ted Stevens appeared ready to take his criminal record back to Congress — perhaps opening a door for Gov. Sarah Palin to replace him — his re-election bid faltered. Democrat Mark Begich, who trailed Stevens by more than 3,200 votes to start the day Wednesday, jumped to an 814-vote lead as state officials resumed their count of early and absentee ballots. The tally late Wednesday was 132,196 to 131,382, with an estimated 30,000 ballots remaining to be counted, some on Friday and some next week. Begich would be the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Alaska since the mid-1970s, and a victory would put his party one step closer to a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate....