100 percent of the precincts have now been counted in Alaska, and underdog Joe Miller leads by 2.2 percentage points over incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. The challenger is ahead by 1,668 votes. Miller had 51.1 percent of the votes in the GOP primary to Lisa Murkowski's 48.9 percent.
Miller told the Anchorage Daily News that he credited the support of Sarah Palin for his lead:
"I'm absolutely certain that was pivotal," he said.Gov. Palin endorsed Joe Miller June 2.
The final results of the race may not be known for over a week. According to Alaska election officials, more than 16,000 absentee ballots were requested, and as of Monday night only 7,600 had been returned. The first absentee count will be next Tuesday, with two subsequent counts Sept. 3 and Sept. 8.
- JP
