Civil War has broken out in the Republican Party; unknown leaders bank on Murkowski while Cornyn tries to glue the pieces of Miller's broken campaign back together again (video below the fold).
Lisa admits that the race is for undecided voters - and that they're all choosing between her and McAdams.
Alaskans are taking their Supreme Court to court.
McAdams keeps doing what he does so well - educating voters and gaining in the polls!
What could possibly happen next?
Anchorage has a 60% chance of snow on Election Day. If you have the chance, vote early. Early voting will be open on Monday!
As reported by fellow Kossack, AFAN, unknown Republicans are banking on Murkowski to win this race and 'boldly' declaring it to ABC News. But, more recently, John Cornyn states that support from the party remains with the primary winner, Miller.
Thanks to Amanda Terkel over at HuffPo for supplying this video of Senator Cornyn and DSCC Campaign Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez on ABC New's This Week.
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Cornyn just wants to see a Republican, any Republican, at this point. He'd be happy if one of the 160 write-in candidates prevailed at this point as long as they have that "R" by their name. But he knows that the entire primary process is screwed if he and the Republican party don't back their candidate, no matter how much it leaves a bad taste in their mouths.
To make sure the public understands who Republicans actually support, NRSC Director, Rob Jesmer issued this statement:
"Joe Miller not only has the full support of the NRSC, but he's actually featured prominently in our TV ad which is running still today statewide in Alaska," he said.
That's good news for Miller. And it's the only good news he's likely to get. He isn't helping himself:
Miller said he hasn't even looked at the report because he's been "too busy campaigning." But the tea-party-backed candidate admitted he didn't know for certain whether the NRSC would be switching sides.
Miller has made so much negative news lately, he just can't seem to get anyone but the Republican party to focus on anything that isn't tainted by past scandal. Yesterday's ADN piece on the 2010 election began with this:
The Army says a Fort Richardson soldier had not been authorized to work as a private security guard when he helped detain a journalist during a public campaign event for Senate candidate Joe Miller nearly two weeks ago.
The piece then continued to discuss the entire Hopfinger 'arrest' by Miller's private security team. Not the kind of news you want covered the weekend before Election Day.
Senator Mark Begich also weighed in on the Miller campaign during an interview with Politico:
"Miller has done what he does best, self-implode. He's the guy who carries two sticks of dynamite every day lit and he forgot he put super glue on his hands. He's just kind of running around like, boom, boom. But the problem is, he holds 26 to 30 points no matter what," Begich told POLITICO in an interview. "He has to get to 33. I'm not sure he can get 34. The question is who has the surge this weekend, who moves?"
I think it is safe to say that Miller's boat has sailed and he won't be gaining any new momentum before Tuesday. That leaves us with a race between Lisa and Scott.
And, Lisa's smart enough to acknowledge that she doesn't have this one in the bag:
Murkowski told The Associated Press on Saturday that the undecided voters she’s talking to seem to be split between her and Democrat Scott McAdams.
The same article expresses doubts that she can easily win:
While Murkowski is confident in her campaign, there remain questions about how liberally election officials will be in determining voter intent if, say, Murkowski’s name is misspelled. Her name is also now one of 160 on the state’s write-in list following a flurry of last-minute filers.
Those write-in ballots may still be in question. Miller supporters are up in arms over the recent Alaska Supreme Court Decision to allow lists of write-in candidates to be handed out in limited cases in order to assist voters. Today, we learn that four Alaskan voters have filed a federal lawsuit that alleges "the state has changed it's rules for holding elections and did so without receiving the required approval of the U.S. Department of Justice." It may be a surprise that the Boston Herald reports that these four individuals are Miller supporters, the very people who are constantly reminding us about State's Rights. This has got to be the ultimate irony of this entire election!
So, we have people voting for a write-in candidate and, if they ask how to spell her name and are handed a list, their vote may or may not count. We know of 17 votes in Homer that have already been put aside because the lists of names were actually posted in the voting booth, an action that the courts decided is in clear violation of the rules. It may be up to the Federal Court to decide how many more votes will be put aside.
While Murkowski is still courting undecided voters whose votes may not be counted, Democrats are finally seeing the light. Senator Begich has not only been reminding folks about explosive Joe, he has been educating voters about Lisa's seniority in the Senate:
"It's all about relationships," he said, noting that seniority is helpful for things like office and parking spaces and getting exclusive invites to events."
This is in response to Lisa's concern that, if she loses, Alaska will have the most junior delegation in the entire United States. She wants to hold on to her seniority for the benefit of Alaskans. Uh-huh. It's all about Alaska, right, Lisa? Democrats aren't falling for it anymore.
Check out this LTE from the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer:
Oct. 27, 2010
To the editor:
I’m a Democrat sticking to my values and voting for Scott McAdams. Due to mayhem on the far right, I did consider voting for Murkowski, until the Chamber of Commerce candidate panel on Oct. 25. There, I realized two things.
First, both Miller and Murkowski spoke primarily and incessantly of developing Alaska’s resources, and bringing home the bacon. They agree we should do the first, and although Miller doesn’t think there will be any bacon and if there is, we shouldn’t want it, in the end, both promise to get all they can. Only Scott McAdams included in his thinking that we are also citizens of this country and this planet, and that on both points considerations in addition to individual and state-level greed are also relevant. I’ll vote my values here: the broader picture and the longer term.
Second, Murkowski distances herself from Miller through her language but not through her policy choices. On the Senate floor in D.C., her voting record aligns with the Republican Party line, as would Miller’s. So Murkowski’s argument that a vote for McAdams is a vote for farther-right Miller is no threat; practically speaking, she and Miller will have the same effect in D.C. Further, Murkowski’s claim that polls show that McAdams can’t win deserves dismissal. Remember that the polls during the primary had her ahead and Miller way behind!
What I see now is that a vote for Murkowski is a vote for the Republican Party, a party no longer supporting a moderate or even recognizable middle. A vote for McAdams, on the other hand, is a vote for the democratic values so critical to this country and for the hope of reclaiming some high ground.
This race is will be won by folks like April, above, voting her values and not her fears. LTE's like this one are cropping up in papers all over Alaska. And folks are noticing. They're changing their minds as well. That's clear by the latest polling:
New polling from Hays Research purports to show Joe Miller has plummeted to third place in Alaska's race for the Senate, with Lisa Murkowski the apparent frontrunner followed closely by Scott McAdams.
The Anchorage firm’s poll of 500 likely voters found that 34 percent said they would vote for a write-in candidate (Lisa Murkowski’s name was not mentioned, but presumably she is who most people meant.)
Twenty-nine percent said they would vote for Democratic nominee Scott McAdams and just 23 percent favored Republican nominee Miller. The poll listed 13 percent undecided.
I'm the first one to tell you that you shouldn't pay attention to polls in Alaska. Lisa agrees... she was shown to be winning by 30 points during the primary and lost it big time. So numbers that are this close can mean only one thing... this race is really close and every vote counts.
Former President Clinton believes this race is winnable as well. The Anchorage Daily News reports that he taped a robocall for the McAdam's campaign and specifically reminds voters that if Democrats stick together, McAdams can win this election.
So now we have the DSCC pulling for McAdams, former President Clinton pulling for McAdams, and McAdams is pulling for McAdams. Everyone is working to pull more Democrats home to roost and bringing in any stray undecided voters at the same time. McAdam's latest piece inSaturday's Anchorage Daily News will go along way to bringing in those voters:
I came to Alaska at age 7 when my single mother packed one suitcase and boarded the M/V Malaspina seeking a better future in Alaska for her children. Growing up in public housing in Petersburg, I learned what it meant to struggle economically at times, but more importantly learned what it means to be part of a community. Later in life, I learned what it means to earn a hard day's wage commercial fishing in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.
In Sitka, I put these lessons to work by getting involved in my community coaching football, mentoring children of single parents through Big Brothers-Big Sisters, serving on Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka school boards, and working statewide as president of the Association of Alaska School Boards and on the board of the Alaska Municipal League.
He reminds voters that he is the only candidate to have written and cut a public budget. While Mayor of Sitka, he actually had to make tough choices in his community while managing to deliver essential services. He plans on doing the same thing as a US Senator.
He ends the piece in a typically straight-forward Scott McAdam's manner:
On Tuesday, I urge you to vote your values -- not your fears -- and respectfully ask for your vote.
If you would like, compare his piece with one written by Lisa on the same day. Her's is wooden, static, and wonky. His piece tells a story. Her's just reminds us of all the things she hasn't managed to do yet. And, if any Democrat was still thinking of voting for her, you may want to highlight this little piece for them:
I will work to repeal the health care bill...
This election really is about one thing - Vote your values, not your Fears. Vote McAdams.
GO, SCOTT, GO!!!
UPDATE: From HuffPo and Public Policy Polling,
10:47 PM ET Good News For McAdams
Public Policy Polling is about to unveil a poll out of Alaska, but they have already unveiled one interesting nugget. Their latest survey shows that Democrat Scott McAdams has 50/30 favorable/unfavorable ratings, while his two Republican opponents fare considerably worse. Write-in candidate and incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski's are 37/53, while GOP nominee Joe Miller fares even worse, with 36% of respondents viewing him favorably and 59% holding unfavorable views.
and
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot....
Joe Miller is favored heading into the final two days of the US Senate campaign in Alaska. 37% of voters say they'll pick him while 30% plan to vote for Scott McAdams and another 30% plan to write in Lisa Murkowski.
The high number of voters who like McAdams, dislike Miller, and are voting for Murkowski place the race in a whole different light than has been thought of the last few months. Murkowski's campaign, rather than propping herself up at the expense of Miller, may actually end up propping Miller up at the expense of McAdams. You never know how things would have unfolded in a two way race but Murkowski seems to be taking a lot more voters away from McAdams than she is from Miller.
Please remember that polls in Alaska are often wrong... this one is just showing a really close race, something that we already knew.