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Alaska Election Results: 2010 Primaries Close Races In Alaska

by NowPublic Staff | August 25, 2010 at 05:15 am

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Alaska Primary Election Results 2010: Governor, Senate Tickets Close Races

Election day in the Alaskan primaries saw some close races.

Governor Sean Parnell who replaced the high profile Sarah Palin secured the GOP ticket.

During his first year in office, Parnell won praise from some for restoring calm to state government after Palin quit last summer, and has scored some legislative wins in advancing his agenda.

In November, Parnell will face either state Sen. Hollis French or Ethan Berkowitz, a Democrat whose primary campaign was focused in part on attacking Parnell.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is in a tough battle against GOP primary challenger Joe Miller.

Miller, a Fairbanks attorney, led from when the first returns came in Tuesday night, and was on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest election upsets ever in Alaska. With 84 percent of Alaska's precincts reporting around 2 a.m., Miller had 45,188 votes to 42,633 for Murkowski.

Miller credited the support of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his lead."I'm absolutely certain that was pivotal," he said.

If Miller's lead holds it will be one of the biggest upsets in primary election history in Alaska.