In Alaska, 'Write-In' Leads, Giving Murkowski Hope - New York Times

“They said you can’t do it, you can’t win a write-in campaign, not in Alaska, not anywhere,” Ms. Murkowski told supporters here late Tuesday night as “Write-In Votes” led in the vote count. “Do they know Alaska?”

“No!” the response came roaring back from the crowd.

At the same time, Robert Campbell, Mr. Miller’s campaign manager said: “We’re pretty confident Senator Murkowski’s going to get some of the write-in votes. It’s also possible Spiderman will get some, too.”

It may be weeks before all those write-in ballots are manually opened and read and it is known whether Ms. Murkowski pulled off the upset of the night. If Ms. Murkowski succeeds, her victory will be counted pretty much everywhere as a loss for Ms. Palin, a leading light of the Tea Party movement who will have failed to put her chosen candidate, Mr. Miller, over the top in her home state.

The outcome of the race here will not affect the balance of power in the United States Senate. The Democrats will keep enough seats to maintain control whatever happens, and it appeared on Wednesday that Scott McAdams, the Democrat in the race here, would most likely not be in the running.

But, as the denouement of the latest chapter in a family feud between the Murkowskis and the Palins, the drama playing out in Alaska continued to attract national attention.

The Murkowski campaign had used unconventional means to wage her unconventional campaign — from wristbands to homespun jingles and omnipresent advertisements showing how to spell her name. Now lawyers from both Republican campaigns are standing by to contest ballots. The only standard that Alaskan voting authorities have announced is the ability to determine “voter intent.”

As the lead for “Write-In Votes” expanded through the night, Ms. Murkowski was swarmed. She grinned. She laughed. She hugged. She pumped her fists. She embraced her husband and two teenage sons, one of whom wore a campaign T-shirt that said, “Too legit to quit.”

On the eve of the election, the Murkowski campaign sent out an e-mail noting that the San Francisco Giants had just won the World Series — and that the last time the team had won the series was in 1954, the same year Strom Thurmond became the first senator — and the only, so far — to win election as a write-in.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the write-in category had 41 percent of the vote compared with 34 percent for Mr. Miller. Mr. McAdams had 24 percent of the vote.

Ms. Murkowski’s campaign staff had said earlier that if the write-in category won about 40 percent of the vote, they would feel confident that the senator would ultimately win — and survive any legal challenges that might be brought by her opponents. It could be weeks before the state verifies the names entered as write-in votes. Thousands of absentee ballots and other ballots remain to be counted.

“We’re very happy with the position we’re in,” said Kevin Sweeney, Ms. Murkowski’s campaign manager.

Mr. Miller told his supporters that the race was not over, then left his election party with his family relatively early in the night. He did not appear at the Egan Center in downtown Anchorage, where candidates of various parties traditionally meet after their individual parties to watch results and do television interviews. His campaign said he would wait for all ballots to be counted and verified.

Elections officials have said that they would not verify names entered by write-in votes until Nov. 18, after the two-week window during which absentee ballots are accepted. As much as 10 percent of the ballots cast could be absentee. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.

Mr. Miller suffered from a string of setbacks in the final weeks of the campaign, including revelations that he had been disciplined in a previous job for using government computers for political purposes and then lying about it. At one point, security guards he had hired for a campaign event handcuffed a reporter who tried to ask Mr. Miller about the disciplinary action.

Ms. Palin headlined a rally for Mr. Miller last week but she offered no comment about the race Tuesday night on her customary platforms, Twitter and Facebook. She spent the evening in New York, working for Fox News, while voters in her home state appeared to ignore her emphatic appeals to oust Ms. Murkowski.

The strong showing by the senator was also measure of vindication for her father, Frank H. Murkowski, who was among those celebrating.

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