The latest count:
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Murkowski | 43,949 | 48.91% |
| Joe Miller | 45,909 | 51.09% |
So, it seems Joe Miller is on the verge of a shocking upset — or was it really all that shocking? Sure, the polls we saw of this race were not particularly encouraging for Miller, but they were taken before the Tea Party Express (the same lugs who powered bat-eyed Sharron Angle to a primary win) spent over $550K on Miller’s behalf. That may not seem like much, but those ad dollars can stretch a lot further in a less expensive media market like Alaska’s. Also, let’s not forget the dubious track record of Alaska polls back in 2008…
As for the final result, we won’t know for sure until all the absentees are counted — which will begin next week but finish on September 8th:
The final results of the race won’t be known for over a week. The Alaska Division of Elections said over 16,000 absentee ballots were requested and as of Monday night 7,600 had been returned. The first count of absentees will be next Tuesday and there will be two subsequent counts as the absentee votes trickle in on Sept. 3 and on Sept. 8.
I hope that Chuck Schumer’s been on the horn with Sitka Mayor – and Democratic Senate nominee – Scott McAdams this morning.
Just curious if the Schumer reference was intentional, or if you forgot that he no longer runs the DSCC…
barring any possible recounts, with Shumlin having won by 178.
Times Argus lists total results for all but the towns of Cabot, Guildhall, and Lemington; AP is reporting those three towns (but is still missing ten others as of 11:56am EDT). Adding those three’s votes to the latest Times Argus totals gives these final results:
Peter Shumlin 18,244
Doug Racine 18,066
Deb Markowitz 17,854
Matt Dunne 15,100
Susan Bartlett 3,795
Total votes: 73,059
Note that the total includes those voting in the Democratic Primary for Governor only.
then this might be at least a half-entertaining Senate race. Surely with all of the new media that’ll be directed at this race, someone will decide to profile our guy. Considering he’s the mayor of a town the same size as Wasilla, the Palin comparisons could start rolling in and he’ll have a free platform to campaign. If Joe Miller is a complete tool with whacko ideas, who knows what’ll happen then…
Then again, this is Alaska in 2010 so we should probably confine this race to the realm of near-hopeless longshots…
Lisa, I know you’re frustrated. After you survived your first election in 2004, you breathed a sigh of relief. The nepotism charges won’t be relevant six years from now, you thought. And Alaska is such a deep-red state that no Democrat would ever have a shot at you again. You did it, Lisa. You made it to the Senate and you got your seat as long as you want it.
Or so you thought.
Then all of a sudden that Sarah Palin bitch came along, riding in on her high horse as if she was some kind of anointed Murkowski-slayer. She knocked out Daddy Dearest in the primary and then became a national sensation in 2008. There were noises of her challenging you in the primary, but they were just that, noises. And any fears of Ms. Crazy you had were quashed when she resigned in the middle of her term for no reason. Good riddance. Now with only a Some Dude opponent, you were safe.
…except, Ms. Crazy decides she hasn’t made your life miserable enough, and endorses the Some Dude. Whatever, she also endorsed Todd Tiahrt and “Cecil Rogers.” You start to get a little nervous when that bee freak from Arkansas also endorses him, but you still feel confident. And then the Tea Party Express moneybombs your cheap little state.
Uh oh.
So now here you find yourself. You need to win at least something like 60% of absentees, depending on how many are returned. Not good. You can sulk in your room complaining about how unfair life is…or, you can get back at them!
How pissed do you think Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin would be if you voted 100% with Obama for the rest of the session? Probably really annoyed. Imagine all the steam blowing out of Failin’s ears if you opposed her agenda at every turn! And if you endorsed Mark Begich in 2014 and campaigned for him, just think about the look on her face. That’ll teach her to mess with you. Liberal Lisa? You’ll show her Liberal Lisa!
Besides, your political career’s over anyway. Just some friendly advice.
…in the final 6 weeks after the last public polling was done.
Everyone really did assume Miller was a joke, and Lisa had it in the bag.
If Murkowski or national Republicans had done a private poll in the last month, we would have seen public attacks on Miller.
I’m still fascinated by seniority with this election. If Murkowski does in fact lose, that’s another Senator with seniority over the big Dem classes of 2006 and 2008 who goes bye bye.
We always hear about how it takes like 40-50 years to be the most senior member of COngress. While true, its quite amazing how the class of 2006 has already moved up and will be more senior than about 30-40 Senators after this election.
And worry about states like Colorado, which has a poll out today showing Bennet trailing Buck by 9. I guess being totally uninspiring outweighs money and DC backing.
So they will still have four females come January, so long as Ayotte wins and McMahon, Fiorina and Angle lose (all of which are quite likely). And in 2012, I really can’t see a female replacing Hutchison.
The Dem-led coalition is the state senate should have no problem keeping its 16-4 majority. And check out the GOP numbers for the open 12th house seat: 666-656-654!
Challenger catching up and possibly winning from an early 20-point deficit?
(Pun TOTALLY intentional.)
The AP is saying there are nine precincts left. Does that mean there are still election day ballots to count or do they divide the absentees into precincts? I’m trying to get a feel for how Murkowski would have to do to win.
Can Dems/Indies vote in the Sept 14 primary? Have Palin or DeMint endorsed in that race? If so, I missed it.
Are there any other significant primaries in DE that day? The House seat perhaps?
Has Castle run ads against O’Donnell or is he saving his powder? The RedState rumor of Castle switching parties, did that make news in DE?
Any chnce of a Teabagger victory in NH against Ayotte?
Just curious. How come the AK results weren’t reported by borough, the way most results are reported by county?
was the first Alaskan senator to be born in Alaska. Starting in 2009, both of Alaska’s senators were born there. Now if Joe Miller wins the general that won’t be true.