'Virginia's U.S. senator-elect spent the day after clinching his victory by thanking his staff and beginning the process of making the transition from first-time candidate to freshman lawmaker.

The Democrat announced the addition of former state senator Leslie L. Byrne to his transition team, along with a lawyer from Abingdon. Byrne, also a former congresswoman from Fairfax, will help him set up his office, his spokeswoman said.

'He's tying up some loose ends from the campaign, thanking people, talking to people around the state who supported him,' said Webb's campaign spokeswoman, Kristian Denny Todd. 'He's working with staff to wrap up the campaign side of things.'

Webb will take office when the 110th Congress begins its two-year session in January.

Since claiming victory Tuesday night, Webb has received several calls from his future colleagues, Todd said, including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, both Republicans.

As a first-time elected official, Webb also started receiving unsolicited advice from seasoned politicians.

State Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) said Webb's biggest challenge is likely to be his inexperience. Lingamfelter likened it to his own first year in the state legislature, when, he now admits, he was too eager to push controversial bills.

'Newly-electeds do come in sometimes with an inflated sense of their mandate,' he said. 'I didn't know much when I showed up, either. He certainly has the intellect to pick up on it.'

Todd said Webb is planning a statewide 'thank you' tour before the end of the year, but the trip's timing and details have not been determined. Next week, she said, Webb will attend a two-day Senate orientation.

She said Webb and his wife, Hong, who is pregnant, are also planning to take some time to prepare for the arrival of their child in early December.

In his speech to supporters Thursday, Webb said he had agreed to have lunch next week with Republican Sen. George Allen. Todd said that a time and place have not been determined and that Webb is waiting to hear from Allen.

'Jim is perfectly ready to schedule that when it fits into Senator Allen's schedule,' she said.

But she said staff members for Allen and Webb will talk soon about how to transfer information about constituent concerns and other information to the Democrat.

Aides to Allen said they were stunned by the loss, despite knowing for weeks that the race against Webb was very close. Members of Allen's Senate staff, many of whom are young, cried Thursday when they found out he had decided not to seek a recount of the ballots.

Across the state, political observers began getting used to the idea that Allen would no longer be a Virginia senator come January.

'I'm not sure you write an obituary yet,' Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said Thursday. 'This is a loss, but he could still come back and be governor again. He got caught up in a bad year, and it was a tough campaign.'

Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), who is contemplating his own bid for governor in 2009, said he was surprised that Allen's usually successful kind of politics did not carry the day.

'What always made George Allen attractive was his independence,' Moran said. 'Over the last six years, he was merely a rubber stamp for the administration. He lost his appeal.'" (Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post, November 11, 2006)

Editor's Note: An index to coverage of George Allen on the Loper website may be found at http://loper.org/~george/archives/2006/Aug/925.html