Alaska Senate election results: Democrat Mary Peltola widens lead over Dan Sullivan; when will final results be announced?

The Alaska Senate election results remain uncalled as Democrat Mary Peltola has widened her lead over Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan following the latest vote count. Peltola is now ahead by more than 2,500 votes, strengthening her position in one of the closely watched races in the 2026 US midterm elections.

According to the latest update released by the Alaska Division of Elections on Monday, November 9, Peltola leads Sullivan by 2,517 first-choice votes. She has secured 48.6% of the vote, compared with Sullivan's 47.5%.

The latest figures mark an increase from Peltola's 637-vote advantage in the days immediately following the November 3 election. However, thousands of ballots are still awaiting counting, and the final outcome remains uncertain.


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Alaska Senate election results: Mary Peltola expands lead over Dan Sullivan

Peltola, a Democrat and former US representative, has maintained her lead over Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan as election officials continue counting ballots.

The Monday update added approximately 4,900 ballots to the statewide tally, increasing Peltola's advantage to 2,517 votes.

Sullivan and Peltola have been competing in a closely watched four-candidate race. Republican Gerald Heikes and independent candidate Dan J. Sullivan are also in the contest. The remaining ballots, including early votes, absentee ballots and questioned ballots, could influence the final outcome.

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When will Alaska Senate election results be final?

The Alaska Division of Elections is expected to release additional results on Tuesday, November 10, and Friday, November 13.

Election officials are still processing thousands of ballots, including early and absentee votes. Alaska also allows certain absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive later, adding to the time required to complete the count.

The state is expected to conduct its ranked-choice tabulation on November 18 if no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes.

Until then, the results will remain unofficial, and neither candidate can be declared the winner solely on the basis of the current lead.

How does Alaska's ranked-choice voting system work?

Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system to determine the winner when no candidate secures a majority of first-choice votes.

Under the system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.

The votes cast for the eliminated candidate are then redistributed to the remaining candidates based on voters' next preferences. This process continues until two candidates remain, with the candidate receiving the most votes declared the winner.

The system means that the candidate leading in the initial count may not necessarily win the final contest.

With Peltola currently holding 48.6% of the first-choice votes and Sullivan at 47.5%, the November 18 tabulation could prove crucial if neither crosses the 50% threshold.