U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan was leading challenger Al Gross by some 30 percentage points as Election Day came to a close. But only a fraction of the vote had been counted, and both candidates said it wasn’t over.
Sullivan met with a few hundred supporters in the large party room at the 49th State Brewing Company in downtown Anchorage.
“You know, every ballot is going to be counted, and we’re confident, very confident,” Sullivan said. “If you look at the numbers, even if you look at the numbers not only tonight, but the number of absentees, that we’re going to have not just a victory — a resounding victory.”
On the south side of town, Al Gross held his campaign finale in his backyard. When the TV cameras and supporters cleared out, Gross sat in an Adirondack chair beside a still-blazing bonfire.
“The mood is good,” Gross said. “We’re all feeling really good. And I think there’s a lot of absentee ballots, a lot of precincts that haven’t reported still, and I think the mood is still very upbeat on our campaign.”
In the U.S. House race, Congressman Don Young was also ahead, and by an equally wide lead. Challenger Alyse Galvin issued a statement late on Election Night saying she was encouraged by the high turnout and would wait for the rest of the vote to be counted.
The margins were almost the same at the top of the ticket. At the end of Election Night, President Donald Trump was ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden by about 30 points in Alaska’s vote count.
