Peltola Extends Alaska Lead as Sullivan Fights Ballot Records Lawsuit

WHO:

Anchorage Daily News - Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. representative, is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, a two-term incumbent.

Anchorage Daily News - Other candidates include Gerald Heikes, a Republican perennial candidate from Palmer, and Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg.

Anchorage Daily News - Peltola campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said the results showed voters were “fed up with high costs and corruption.”

Fox News - Sullivan’s campaign accused Peltola of trying to “rig the system” by suing Alaska’s Division of Elections.

NY Post - Alaska’s Senate race and Mississippi’s Senate race were among two U.S. Senate contests still too early to call.

WHAT:

Anchorage Daily News - Peltola led Sullivan by 2,517 first-choice votes, about 1.1% of the vote, after the latest preliminary count. She had 106,321 votes (48.6%); Sullivan had 103,804 (47.5%). Her prior lead was 637 votes, or 0.3%.

Anchorage Daily News - The updated total exceeded 220,000 ballots, about 5,000 more than the previous tally. About 68% of the votes counted in the update went to Peltola.

Anchorage Daily News - Heikes had 4,865 first-choice votes (2.2%); Dan J. Sullivan had 3,651 (1.7%).

Fox News - Sullivan moved to block Peltola’s lawsuit seeking records concerning rejected absentee ballots.

NY Post - Peltola’s campaign filed a lawsuit over absentee ballots, and a judge predicted a quick decision.

WHERE:

Anchorage Daily News - The Alaska Division of Elections released preliminary results. Peltola’s campaign cited support in Anchorage and Chevak; the lawsuit may be heard in Anchorage Superior Court.

Anchorage Daily News - Sullivan made remarks at the Hotel Captain Cook, and Peltola greeted supporters at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel.

WHEN:

Anchorage Daily News - The election winner may not be known until Nov. 18; results are expected to be certified on Nov. 25. A larger results batch is set to be released Tuesday.

Anchorage Daily News - Remaining ballots include tens of thousands of early and absentee ballots. The final ballots are scheduled to be counted on Nov. 18.

WHY:

Anchorage Daily News - Peltola’s campaign said the results strengthened her path to victory and cited voter dissatisfaction with high costs and corruption.

Anchorage Daily News - The national election results were described as allowing Democrats to regain control of the House and Senate amid voter anger over President Trump’s policies, including the costly Iran war.

HOW:

Anchorage Daily News - Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed according to voters’ next choices. The process continues until a candidate exceeds 50%.

Anchorage Daily News - If neither Peltola nor Sullivan exceeds 50% by the final count, ballots supporting Heikes and Dan J. Sullivan could be redistributed after those candidates are eliminated.

Anchorage Daily News - Both campaigns cited cast-vote-record data released by the Alaska Division of Elections to describe their paths to victory.

(UPDATED November 11, 2026 05:03 UTC)

Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s too-close Senate race. Her advantage grew to 2,517 first-choice votes, but neither candidate topped 50%. Remaining ballots could trigger ranked-choice redistribution, with final results expected November 18.