Republicans could be on the verge of losing another Senate seat as Democrat Mary Peltola continues to widen her lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s still-uncalled Senate race.
The former Democratic congresswoman picked up approximately 5,000 additional votes in the latest ballot count Thursday, pushing her lead over Sullivan to roughly 5,800 votes as of Friday morning.
And the remaining ballots could make things even worse for Republicans.
With more than 83% of the expected vote counted, Peltola has maintained her advantage since Election Day. Election forecasters view her as strongly positioned to win, in part because many of the outstanding ballots are expected to come from Democratic-leaning areas.
Peltola’s campaign is already sounding confident.
“As more ballots get counted, it is clear Mary’s victory is all but guaranteed and Alaskans have resoundingly rejected Dan Sullivan’s D.C. self dealing,” the campaign wrote on X.
The campaign also said Peltola won Thursday’s newly counted ballots by roughly a 2-to-1 margin, while outperforming Sullivan in traditionally conservative areas.
“When every vote is counted, Mary Peltola will be Alaska’s next United States Senator,” the campaign declared.
Ranked-choice voting could put the race away.
There is still one important step before the winner is officially determined.
Neither candidate has crossed the 50% threshold required to win outright. If that remains the case after all eligible ballots are counted, Alaska will conduct its ranked-choice tabulation on November 18.
Under the system, the lowest-performing candidates are eliminated and their voters’ next choices are redistributed until one candidate receives a majority.
The Alaska Beacon’s calculations indicate that Peltola could also come out ahead after the ranked-choice redistribution, adding to the growing pressure on Sullivan’s campaign.
Decision Desk HQ has not officially called the race, however, and the final result remains pending.
Donald Trump tried to intervene.
The Alaska contest has also become a national political controversy over Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a separate candidate whose name closely resembles that of the Republican incumbent.
His candidacy prompted the Trump administration to sue in an effort to block certification of the election if Peltola’s margin of victory was smaller than the number of votes received by the other Sullivan.
That lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
For now, election officials are continuing to count ballots, and Peltola’s lead keeps growing.
“Alaskans are ready for a Senator who fights to lower costs and take on DC corruption, and when every vote is counted, Mary will deliver for Alaska,” her campaign said.
The race isn’t officially over. But with Peltola extending her lead and forecasters pointing to the political makeup of the remaining ballots, Republicans have a difficult finish ahead.
