Alaska Senate Race Stays Uncalled With 86% Counted as Peltola Leads Sullivan
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 12
Alaska Senate Race Stays Uncalled With 86% Counted as Peltola Leads Sullivan
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 12
Summary
Alaska has reported 86% of votes in its Senate race, leaving Democrat Mary Peltola narrowly ahead of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan but without a projected winner.
Most outstanding ballots are mail votes from remote areas, and Alaska will accept those arriving up to 10 days after Election Day if they were postmarked by Nov. 3.
Nov. 18 is the key date: officials must finish counting remaining ballots then, and ranked-choice tabulation will begin if no candidate has cleared 50%.
The race could still be called before that if late ballots from Peltola-friendly areas expand her edge enough to avoid a ranked-choice redistribution.
How might the rise of alternative voting systems like ranked-choice reshape the way future campaigns build coalitions?
Are recent shifts in regional voting patterns a temporary anomaly, or the beginning of a completely new electoral map?
Alaska’s 2026 Senate Election: Ranked-Choice Voting, Name-Alike Candidate Tactics, and National Power at Stake
Overview
The 2026 Alaska Senate race became the nation’s final uncalled contest, with Mary Peltola’s narrow lead over incumbent Dan Sullivan tightening after a major absentee ballot update. Because neither candidate reached 50%, Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system triggered a runoff scheduled for November 18, after all mail-in ballots—including those from remote areas—arrive. The race was further complicated by Democratic operatives recruiting a similarly named candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, leading to state and federal investigations, lawsuits, and ballot redesigns to reduce confusion. Meanwhile, a high-profile campaign to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system drew millions in out-of-state funding, making the state a national battleground for election reform.