Eschaton

Haha, this could be fun.

Here's a bizarre scenario, suggested to us by an astute reader and confirmed by a glance at Alaska's election law:

Say Republican Jim Talent beats Senator Jean Carnahan (D) and gets seated immediately by Missouri's Democratic governor, and Republicans move quickly to swear him in, giving them a majority in the Senate shortly after election day.

Well, according to Alaska election statutes, if Senator Frank Murkowski (R) gets elected governor of that great state, he must resign his post by December 2 (when the state certifies its gubernatorial election).

Problem is: Murkowski, who would anoint his own successor, would have to wait until December 7 until he can seat him or her. So Republicans would be down one member in the Senate for those five days, allowing Democrats to take temporary control.

There are many what-ifs that would have to occur to make all of this happen, but the fact is, Talent could win and Murkowski seems even more likely to, so it's certainly worth keeping in mind.