Democrats have picked up another seat in the Senate, as Alaskan Republican Ted Stevens lost his bid for re-election. Democrat Mark Begich declared victory Tuesday after his lead increased to 3,700 votes. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the US Senate. He was convicted last month on federal ethics charges. Begich is the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the Senate since Mike Gravel nearly thirty years ago. Begich’s win gives Democrats control of fifty-eight Senate seats, two short of a filibuster-proof majority.