ANCHORAGE (Azat TV) – Preliminary general election results released late Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, show Republican U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan narrowly leading former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Senate contests. With tens of thousands of ballots remaining uncounted across the state, the high-stakes race is officially undecided and is widely expected to be determined by a ranked-choice tabulation scheduled for Nov. 18, 2026, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
As of late Tuesday night, with 201,705 ballots counted out of approximately 605,000 registered voters and 279 of 401 precincts reporting, Sen. Sullivan held 97,411 votes, or 48.6% of the preliminary total. Democrat Mary Peltola secured 94,941 votes, representing 47.4% of the counted electorate. State election officials noted that many of the uncounted precincts are located in rural Alaska communities that historically tend to favor Peltola, introducing significant volatility into the remaining tabulations.
The Stakes and National Context
The contest has drawn immense national attention, record campaign spending, and high-profile visits from Republican leadership, including campaign rallies hosted by President Donald Trump and the vice president to support Sen. Sullivan. Speaking to supporters at the Hotel Captain Cook on election night, Sen. Sullivan acknowledged broader national headwinds, noting that a nationwide “blue wave” flipped control of the U.S. Senate and House to Democratic hands. However, Sullivan expressed confidence that Alaska would buck the national trend, telling his supporters that internal campaign data showed his campaign holding the advantage as rural and absentee ballots continued to process.
Meanwhile, Mary Peltola addressed an enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 supporters at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel downtown. The first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, Peltola emphasized themes of economic relief, pointing to high freight, fuel, and grocery costs squeezing families across the state. She also addressed ongoing public scrutiny regarding a namesake candidate on the ballot, dismissing the controversy as a political distraction.
The Namesake Candidate Factor and Legal Battles
Complicating the race is the presence of Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg running as an undeclared candidate. He captured 3,303 votes, or 1.7% of the preliminary total, while third-place candidate Gerald Heikes, a perennial Republican candidate from Palmer, secured 4,177 votes, or 2.1%. The namesake challenger’s candidacy has triggered a flurry of legal and investigative challenges, including an unsuccessful Trump administration lawsuit alleging the campaign tactic was designed to mislead voters, alongside ongoing inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Next Procedural Steps and Certification
Because no candidate cleared the 50% threshold in Tuesday’s initial first-choice count, the election moves to Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system. Under state election law, if the top vote-getter falls short of a majority, subsequent rounds of tabulation will eliminate the lowest-ranking candidates and redistribute their second-choice preferences until one candidate crosses the 50% threshold. The final ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2026, with official election certification slated for Nov. 25, 2026.