Twenty-four hours ago, it appeared that Ted Stevens had coasted to an easy victory in the Alaska Senate race, but that Rep. Don Young was losing a narrow race to Sean Parnell. It looks a little different now.
Here are the latest reports from MSNBC:
U.S. Senate
437 of 438 precincts reporting | Last update: 8/27/2008 8:55 pm
Democrat
Begich, Mark 55,993 84%
Bird, Bob 3,585 5%
Haase, Fredrick D. 1,130 1%
Metcalfe, Ray 4,726 7%
Vondersaar, Frank J. 808 1%
Republican
Corey, Michael D. 1,283 1%
Cuddy, David W. 25,380 27%
Heikes, Gerald L. 500 0%
Sikma, Roderic H. 948 1%
Stevens, Ted 59,123 63%
Vickers, Vic 5,204 5%
Wanda, Rich M. 621 0%
U.S. House
437 of 438 precincts reporting | Last update: 8/27/2008 8:55 pm
Democrat
Benson, Diane E. 24,477 37%
Berkowitz, Ethan A. 35,246 53%
Wright, Don R. 5,709 8%
Republican
Ledoux, Gabrielle 8,618 9%
Parnell, Sean R. 42,387 45%
Young, Don E. 42,539 45%
With 437 of 438 precincts reporting, Young now has a lead of 152 votes, out of 95,000 votes cast! That is great news for Ethan Berkowitz, as Young has performed much more poorly in polls than has Sean Parnell.
But this is more important than just one extra vote in the House. In the unlikely (though possible) event of an electoral tie in the Presidential race in November, the election would be decided by the House of Representatives. But it's not one man one vote in the House. Instead it is one state, one vote. Each state's delegation has to come up with a single vote. And if the Alaska delegation suddenly shifts from Republican to Democratic, that makes an Obama victory there much more secure.