Two Democratic Alaskan Senators?

Another elec­tion, another strange occur­rence in Alaska. Jon Chait reports that the Demo­c­rat is now lead­ing in Alaska:

Over the week­end, lead­ing Repub­li­cans have expressed con­cern over Tea Party favorite Joe Miller’s col­lapse in Alaska, even going so far as to express tacit sup­port for Lisa Murkowski’s write-​​in cam­paign to stave off a win by Demo­c­rat Scott McAdamas. But now in the lat­est poll, Miller is ahead, 37−30−30.

This is one of those odd­i­ties that could have long-​​lasting impacts. Without this chal­lenge, it’s likely that Murkowski would have had a land­slide victory. Since Sen­ate terms are six years and come with a great deal of free pub­lic­ity, incum­bency for a Demo­c­rat makes it much eas­ier to have a fight­ing chance next time around. Remem­ber, Alaska is a young state and has only had seven Sen­a­tors: the late Ted Stevens held his office from 1968 to 2009, and Lisa Murkowski inher­ited her seat from her father by appoint­ment in 2002 when he became gov­er­nor (Frank Murkowski had held it since 1981). So get­ting the incum­bency in both seats is a big deal for Democ­rats, espe­cially in such a bad year.

1 November 2010 – 4:45 pm | By Benjamin Daniels | Posted in 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (124)