Mary Peltola widens lead over Dan Sullivan in Alaska Senate race, but ranked-choice voting could decide winner

The tightly contested US Senate race in Alaska got its updated vote count on Monday, adding on to the lead of Democrat Mary Peltola over incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. While the vote counting continues, the November 9 update brings Peltola’s earlier 637-vote lead to 2,517 first-choice votes.

According to Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media, citing the Alaska Division of Elections, Peltola has 106,321 votes, accounting for 48.6% of the total votes recorded, while Sullivan has obtained 103,804 votes, translating to 47.5% of the total recorded votes. The most recent update has involved an additional 5,000 votes.

The democratic candidate has not yet secured a victory, as neither Peltola nor Sullivan has secured the 50% first-choice votes needed to win the election.

Why Alaska's ranked-choice voting could change the result

Alaska uses a ranked-choice system in which voters can list candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their supporters' ballots are redistributed according to their next preferences.

In this contest, Republican Gerald Heikes is in third place with 4,865 votes, while another candidate named Dan J. Sullivan, an independent, has received 3,651. Their supporters' subsequent preferences could influence the final contest between Peltola and the incumbent senator if neither secures the 50% bracket.

The state is scheduled to conduct the ranked-choice tabulation on November 18, provided neither leading candidate crosses the majority threshold before then.

Thousands of ballots remain uncounted

The counting process is far from over. According to the Anchorage Daily News, tens of thousands of early and absentee ballots, among others, remain to be processed. Additional results were expected on November 10 and November 13, while the state is aiming to certify the election on November 25.

Peltola's campaign manager Cheryl Bruce welcomed Monday's update, saying: “Alaskans are fed up with high costs and corruption stemming from DC, and they have made their voices heard: after every vote is counted, it is clear that Mary Peltola will be elected Alaska’s next United States Senator. 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.”