Peltola tells election night crowd Alaskans are breaking turnout records

Mary Peltola told supporters Tuesday night that Alaskans were breaking voter turnout records as the Democrat awaited results in her U.S. Senate challenge to incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.

"I have seen Alaskans standing up across our state today. Breaking records in the voter turnout," Peltola said.

She said the same of early voting, which she said she had watched for weeks. The state listed 67,935 early ballots by midday Tuesday, fewer than the 73,146 in the final 2024 count.

Peltola said a lifelong poll worker in Bethel told her she had never seen turnout like this since statehood. The Division of Elections' unofficial count showed 1,166 Election Day ballots at Bethel's two precincts, compared with 1,156 there in the final 2024 count.

Peltola said barely over 20% of the vote had been counted and that votes "trend the way the early votes have come in."

The division's unofficial count early Wednesday, with 394 of 401 precincts reporting, had Peltola ahead 102,701 to 102,075. Peltola led in early votes, 28,192 to 20,566, and in absentee votes, 4,777 to 3,420. Sullivan led in Election Day votes, 78,089 to 69,732. The count showed 215,341 voters, 35.57% of the state's 605,433 registered voters.

In her speech, Peltola said more than 17,000 Alaskans had worked on her campaign. She cited fisheries, Social Security, health care, education and housing, saying she wanted fish "out of the clutches of corporate greed, and back into our freezers and our fish racks." She said every one of the more than 50 communities she visited told her they need housing.

Peltola told the crowd final results will take weeks. Absentee ballots mailed within the U.S. are due Nov. 13 and those from overseas Nov. 18. The division's calendar targets certification for Nov. 25.