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Sarah Palin's veto of $28 million in stimulus cash was overturned on Monday.

(CNN) – Just one week after Sarah Palin stepped down as governor of Alaska, Alaskan lawmakers succeeded in overriding her veto of federal stimulus dollars.

The legislature voted Monday 45-15 in favor of overturning the former governor's veto of more than $28 million in Recovery Act funds targeted toward energy efficiency projects.

The Alaska legislature met for a one-day special session in Anchorage. Heading into the vote, Rep. Mike Hawker, who voted in support of finally accepting the stimulus funds, anticipated a close decision, coming down to a couple of votes either way.

“I think it's tight,” the Anchorage Republican said before the vote. A veto override in Alaska requires a three-fourths majority of the entire legislature.

Palin rejected the Department of Energy money in May and continues to defend the controversial move.

"As Governor, I did my utmost to warn our legislators that accepting stimulus funds will further tie Alaska to the federal government and chip away at Alaska's right to chart its own course," Palin wrote on her Facebook page Sunday. "Enforcing the federal building code requirements, which Governor Parnell and future governors will be forced to adopt in order to accept these energy funds, will eventually cost the state more than it receives."

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(CNN) – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s office released a statement Friday, minutes after she announced her decision to step down from office at the end of the month, listing the “Selected Accomplishments of the Palin Administration.”

Full Palin statement after the jump

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Ted Stevens lost his bid for a seventh Senate term against Begich in November following a conviction of seven counts of lying on Senate ethics reforms.

(CNN) - The Alaska Republican Party is calling on Democratic Sen. Mark Begich to resign his first-term post as senator, one day after Attorney General Eric Holder cleared former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens of felony charges Wednesday.

"The Alaska Republican Party...believes that current Senator Mark Begich should resign his position to allow for a new, special election, so Alaskans may have the chance to vote for a senator without the improper influence of the corrupt Department of Justice," the Alaska Republican Party's Web site states.

Stevens lost his bid for a seventh Senate term against Begich in November following a conviction of seven counts of lying on Senate ethics reforms.

(Updated after the jump with Begich reaction)

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Palin thanked Ted Stevens for his service to Alaska.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is congratulating Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich on winning his Senate race against veteran lawmaker Ted Stevens.

“I extend my congratulations to Mark Begich and his family,” Palin said in a statement released by her office Wednesday. “This is a new era for Alaska and I look forward to working with Mark on the many issues that are important to our state. I am confident he will add a compelling new voice to the U.S. Senate.”

"I also thank Senator Ted Stevens for his 40 years of dedicated service to Alaska,” the statement said. “His tireless efforts on behalf of the state he loves have benefited all those who call it home. Todd and I join all Alaskans in gratitude to Sen. Stevens."

Palin wasn’t always so effusive toward Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the Senate. During her vice presidential bid, after Stevens was indicted on seven felony counts, she would not say whether she planned to vote for the senator in his re-election bid.

In October, after Stevens was found guilty of making false statements on his financial disclosure reports, Palin initially said it was “a sad day” for Alaska but did not call for the senator to step down. The next day, in a television appearance with John McCain, Palin went a step further and said Stevens should indeed resign.

On Election Day in her hometown of Wasilla, Palin refused to say if she voted for Stevens.

“I am also exercising my right to privacy, and I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for, nobody does, and that’s really cool about America also,” she told a reporter.

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has taken the lead over Sen. Ted Stevens as votes continue to be counted in Alaska's senate race.

(CNN) - Republican Sen. Ted Stevens has fallen 814 votes behind Democratic challenger Mark Begich as vote counting continues in Alaska.

The Anchorage mayor was trailing Stevens in the initial count, which did not include at least 90,000 absentee, early and provisional ballots.

With nearly two-thirds of those votes now tallied, Begich has taken the lead. An estimated 40,000 ballots have yet to be counted – a majority of them from the area of the state that includes Anchorage, according to state elections officials.

Updated Wednesday evening with latest count.

(CNN) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’ lead over Democratic challenger Mark Begich disappeared late Wednesday, with thousands of votes yet to be counted.

Stevens began the day with a lead of more than 3,200 votes, but as the state continued its count of at least 90,000 outstanding votes -– a total that includes early votes, absentee votes and disputed ballots - the state’s Division of Elections reported that the incumbent Republican had 125,016 votes, and Begich had 125,019.

Around a third of those ballots had yet to be counted, in a process that is expected to continue into next week.

Alaska has no provision for a runoff if no candidate gets at least 50 percent of the vote; whoever gets the most votes wins.

Defeated candidates may ask for recounts.

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(CNN) - The roller coaster Alaska Senate race could take another turn Wednesday when election officials there plan to count some 50,000 absentee and early ballots which previously have not been totalled.

Alaska's unofficial tally currently shows incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Stevens leading Democratic opponent Mark Begich 48 percent to 46.6 percent. Stevens, a political juggernaut in Washington, is clutching that narrow lead even after a jury found him guilty of seven felony corruption counts last month. The 40-year senator insists he is innocent.

Stevens and Begich are currently separated by just 3,257 votes, according to the Alaska Division of Elections Web site.

But those numbers primarily reflect votes cast on Election Day. In a statement, Alaska elections officials said that no absentee or early votes have been counted yet because the state wanted to check each one against precinct voter lists.

The officials estimate some 50,000 of the uncounted votes have now been cross-checked and will be counted Wednesday.

That could provide a big bounce for either candidate, but it may not end things. State figures indicate another 20,000 early and absentee votes are still being authenticated and will not be tallied yet.

To track the Alaska caucus results county-by-county, click here:  Alaska