Democrat Mary Peltola declared victory in Alaska’s closely watched Senate race early Saturday after a fresh batch of ballots widened her lead over Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Peltola, 53, a former House member, leads Sen. Dan Sullivan with 49.8% of the vote to his 46% — a nearly four-point lead with 96% of the vote in.
“Alaskans have spoken,” her team posted in a statement on X. “There is no mathematical path for Sullivan to win this race. When the remaining votes are counted, Mary will decisively be elected as Alaska’s next United States Senator.”
Sullivan hasn’t posted since Nov. 4, when he told his state: “Alaska, you might be seeing a blue wave in the Lower 48. We aren’t like the Lower 48. Alaska is different.”
Peltola remains just shy of the outright majority needed to avoid a ranked-choice runoff, with third-party candidates Gerald Heikes and Dan R. Sullivan Jr. accounting for the remaining votes. President Trump had called the latter independent candidate “fake” following reports that operatives close to Peltola pushed his candidacy to siphon off votes.
If Peltola finishes short of a majority, lower-ranked candidates will be eliminated and their votes redistributed according to voters’ next available preferences under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.
“You will not be surprised to learn that there are reports that more Fake Dan Sullivan voters listed Peltola as their second choice than listed Real Dan Sullivan. If that is the case, Peltola will likely win then,” wrote Byron York, a columnist for the Washington Examiner.
In another major Democratic victory early Saturday, former Alaska state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans — Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor — to become Alaska’s first Democratic governor elected since 1998.
Kreiss-Tomkins also secured a cross-party endorsement from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Democrats are now poised to control governorships in 30 states following a string of midterm victories.
Alaskans also voted to retain ranked-choice voting in a ballot measure this month, marking the third time voters have backed the system.
A win by Peltola would give Democrats a sizable 56-seat majority, although still short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a Republican filibuster of legislation.
President Trump has demanded the votes that went to minor candidates go to the Republican, and last week declared the race “over” and that Sullivan had “won” it.
The Trump Justice Department sued before Election Day to block “any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion.”
The Post could not immediately reach Sen. Sullivan for comment.
