January 1, Peltola Edges Closer in Alaska Senate Race as Counting Drags On

Wyatt’s Take

• Alaska’s Senate race remains too close to call even after another big batch of ballots.
• Democrats are already claiming victory while thousands of votes are still sitting uncounted.
• Republicans say the ranked-choice system and a mysterious third candidate are tilting the scales.

Alaska’s Senate race is still too close to call after the latest count gave Democrat Mary Peltola a slightly wider lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

The Monday night ballot drop added nearly 5,000 votes and pushed Peltola ahead by 2,517 first-choice votes.

Peltola now sits at 48.6 percent while Sullivan holds 47.5 percent in the ranked-choice system that kicks in if nobody reaches 50 percent.

“After every vote is counted, it is clear that Mary Peltola will be elected Alaska’s next United States Senator,” Peltola campaign manager Cheryl Bruce wrote in a statement Tuesday morning.

“Mary won today’s votes by a margin of 68-30, reflecting major support in key areas from Anchorage and Chevak. This overwhelming margin further strengthens Mary’s path to victory, and Mary is looking forward to continuing her relentless fight to lower costs and put Alaska first in the United States Senate after all votes are counted.”

Two other candidates remain on the ballot. Republican Gerald Heikes has 2.2 percent and independent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has 1.7 percent.

Republicans have raised alarms about the independent candidate nicknamed “Decoy Dan,” claiming the name was chosen to siphon votes from Sen. Sullivan.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has launched an investigation into the matter and says the Department of Justice is also reviewing possible wrongdoing.

“We’re still in the process of bringing in votes and counting votes,” Dunleavy said Sunday. “And we are in the midst of investigations as to determine if there was any wrongdoing, especially anything that might resemble perjury or, you know, a misrepresentation of individual’s intent on how they wanted their candidacy to be placed on the ballot.”

Trump and Sullivan both believe the senator would pick up second-choice votes if the race goes to later rounds of ranked-choice counting.

Official ranked-choice tabulation is not scheduled until Nov. 18 after the overseas absentee deadline.

Democrats have already declared victory in several Senate races across the country and are pushing the same narrative in Alaska.

Certification is set for Nov. 25.

Wyatt Matters

Heartland families know that every legal vote must be counted fairly before anyone claims victory. When the system drags on for weeks and strange candidates appear on the ballot, working Americans lose trust in the process that is supposed to protect their voice.