Reader note: This thread will provide updates on races for the U.S. House and Senate throughout the night. It will be updated with the newest updates at the top, the oldest information at the bottom.

11:45 pm: Webb's lead over Allen in Virgina is over 11,000 votes, even before provisional ballots are counted later this week. I don't see how that race can be saved. It along with Allen's Presidential aspirations are gone. Unless Burns pulls it out in Montana it'll be a 51-49 Democratic edge in the Senate.

11:20 pm: McCaskill has finally been called the winner in Missouri. Democrats own both Houses of Congress, at least nominally, assuming they maintain their razor-thin lead in Virginia through a recount. Whether they have functioning majorities is much less clear.

10:10 pm: The networks aren't calling it yet but I think Talent is done in Missouri. Not by much, but McCaskill has pulled ahead 49% - 48% with 20% of precincts left to report. Not sure about Burns, but it looks tough. Looks like Democrats might pull out the Senate too.

9:45 pm: Networks are finally calling Tennessee for Bob Corker. Montana doesn't look good for Conrad Burns based on early numbers. Talent may be in trouble in Missouri, evidently lots of votes in St. Louis and Kansas City still to be counted, and he only has a 3% lead with 69% of precincts counted. Republicans need one seat to hit 50, and have a Cheney tie-breaker to maintain majority status. I'm not sure where that will come from at this point.

9:00 pm: Jim Webb has inched ahead by less than 3,000 votes (out of nearly 2.3 million cast) with 99% of precincts reporting in Virginia. Florida in 2000, and Washington in 2004, meet Virginia in 2006. Lawyer time ensues.

In the House, some seats have been saved, but on the whole this is not a fun night. The "wave" hit. It wasn't a tidal wave, but it did wreck many a Republican sand castle.

8:30 pm: FOX reports the Washington Post just withdrew it's call of Steele losing in Maryland. Stay tuned on that race, though don't get your hopes up too much. Just looks like actual vote totals are much closer than exit polls indicated...where have we heard that before?

8:20 pm: Talent leads in Missouri, with over a third of precincts counted, St. Louis and related urban areas still to report. Corker is leading in Tennesee. Tough for Democrats to take the Senate if Republicans take at least 2 of 3 in MO, TN, and VA. The House is most definitely gone. The only question is the margin.

8:00 pm: Michael Barone, this author's most trusted analyst of Congressional races, says he thinks Virgina's senate race is headed to a recount, based on projecting results from the 5% or so of the precincts left to be counted. Allen still holds a .5% lead. Lawyers, charge your blackberries!

7:20 pm: Early numbers are coming in for Missouri's Senate race. An initial lead for Talent with over 15% of the vote in, but this one is expected to be a late-nighter.

I have a very bad feeling based on results thus far that New York and Pennsylvania will give Democrats a majority in the House, but how big? That's a tougher question.

Some good news, Republicans are holding Kentucky's 4th District, a marker for both sides to see if the "wave" would hit in full. It looks like it may not.

7:15 pm: Over 90% of the vote counted in Virgina, still a tight lead for George Allen.

Also, reports of serious legal challenges arising in Indiana's 9th District, the closest of the competitive races in that state, which has yet to be called for either side. That won't be fun.

Other quick thoughts: most of the Dems winning close races are conservative Dems, likely to buck their leaders in floor votes since they'll have to defend their seats in 2008 in districts that have voted for Bush. More on that in coming days.

Initial observations, 7:00 pm: Close races in blue states are not a pretty sight, especially in Maryland which is a GOP bath despite hopes for close races for Governor and Senate. This doesn't bode well for some House seats in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Close races in red areas are holding better, witness Republicans looking to pick up 2 House seats in Georgia, and holding steady thus far in close races in Florida.

And, ouch, as I type, FOX calls a race against embattled GOP incumbent Nancy Johnson in Connecticut's 5th District.

6:55 pm: FOX is now projecting Republicans hold Katherine Harris' Congressional seat, Florida 13. Also, Republicans might also well hold Foley's old seat, Flordia 16, as voters "Punch Foley for Joe." Some good news to help mitigate the apparent pain in Indiana and Kentucky.

6:40 pm: Odd election note of the night - Mike Nifong, the DA in the now highly controversial case involving an alleged rape committed by members of the Duke Lacrosse team, has been re-elected.

6:35 pm: Networks are calling a painful loss for Republicans, Anne Northup in Kentucky's 3rd District. This was widely viewed by both sides as a bellwether race on whether or not GOP losses in the House would go from modest to worse.

Good news for conservatives: networks are calling Linc Chaffee's defeat in Rhode Island. Very few Republicans will be sad about that in the long-run.

In Virginia, over 80% of the vote counted, still a narrow lead for George Allen.

6:15 pm: Netroots alert - networks, at least FOX and CNN, are calling the race for Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.

Over 70% of the vote counted in Virginia, Allen ahead, barely.

First news, 6:00 pm: with over 60% of the vote in, Virgina's Senate race is a nailbiter - as expected. It all depends on what part of the state the remaining votes come from. Expected GOP losses in Senate races in Pennsylvania and Ohio are essentially confirmed. As is Democratic retention in New Jersey.

Big surprise, problems with exit poll data is already being reported as actual results come in for comparison.

News on the House side is mixed. Early returns in Indiana and Kentucky are not helpful, with Republicans teetering on the edge of losing enough seats (4 instead of perhaps 1 or 2) in those states to indicate broader problems. Returns are flucuating though, and no calls have been made by any TV network in any of the key races anticipated to be close (with the exception of one race expected to flip from R to D, Indiana's 8th). Roughly 50% of the vote remains to be counted in many of these races. Elsewhere, first counts in Georgia where two Democratic seats thought in play, and in Florida in the race for Mark Foley's open seat, are potentially promising.