Former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola again claimed victory in her Alaska Senate race against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), after the latest ballot dump increased her lead over the incumbent.
The race had yet to be called as of Saturday morning, with the Associated Press reporting 98% of votes have been counted. Peltola was leading the field with 49.8% of votes as Sullivan trailed at 46.1%, about a 10,400-vote difference. Two other candidates, Republican Gerald Heikes and independent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., had garnered 5,885 and 4,560 votes, respectively.
“There is no mathematical path for Sullivan to win this race,” Peltola said in an X post. “When the remaining votes are counted, Mary will decisively be elected as Alaska’s next United States Senator.”
Peltola netted approximately 2,000 votes in the Friday ballot dump, bringing her closer to the majority she will need to avoid an instant runoff in Alaska’s ranked choice voting system. She was previously leading Sullivan by roughly two percentage points when 88% of voters were counted Friday afternoon.
Sullivan has not posted about the race since Nov. 4, when he proclaimed that the blue wave, which swept control of Congress for Democrats, would not affect Alaska. Should the race be called for Peltola, Democrats would hold 56 seats in the Senate, compared to Republicans holding 44.
The state’s final deadline for receiving overseas ballots is Nov. 18. Election officials must then complete their review before moving forward with the ranked-choice tabulation, if necessary.
ALASKA IS STILL COUNTING VOTES MORE THAN A WEEK AFTER ELECTION DAY: WHAT TO KNOW
Alaska is one of 14 states that allow eligible mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive and be counted days or even weeks later. The Last Frontier State also has numerous rural precincts where ballots must be transported, sometimes by plane, and processed, contributing to the extended counting period.
The results in Alaska’s Senate race could be on the horizon, as the Associated Press called the gubernatorial race just after midnight on Saturday for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. The Democrat led the field by a wide margin, beating Republican Bernadette Wilson by roughly 22 percentage points.