Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday became the first US Senate candidate in more than 50 years to win a so-called write-in campaign, emerging victorious over her “Tea Party”-backed rival following a painstaking, week-long count of handwritten votes.
The victory is a remarkable comeback for Murkowski, who lost to a political newcomer in the Republican primary, and a humbling moment for Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and Murkowski nemesis, whose support was not enough to get her favored candidate, Joe Miller, through an election in her own state.
The outcome became clear after a tedious week of counting handwritten ballots.
Murkowski’s win doesn’t affect control of the Senate, but it was a major rebuke to Palin, whose endorsements were influential in the elections. Palin did not let it keep her down, however, declaring in an ABC News interview that she is considering a presidential run and would defeat US President Barack Obama if she runs in 2012.
Murkowski declared victory after flying from Washington to Alaska on Wednesday, exactly two months after announcing her write-in bid.
“It feels a little bit mind-boggling,” she said at an Anchorage rally.
She called for unity and wished Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams, who conceded last week, well. Then she called for a night of celebration, telling supporters that “against all odds, we as Alaskans, together, made history.”
Miller said he may ask for a recount. Miller has maintained he would stop fighting if the math doesn’t work in his favor and his spokesman, Randy DeSoto, said late on Wednesday that Miller would discuss matters with his campaign and legal teams, and that “decisions will be made shortly.”
The state Republican party, which backed Miller, called the race for Murkowski and asked Miller to withdraw.
Murkowski will return to Washington owing nothing to anti-tax Tea Party activists, who largely opposed her, or to the Republican Party, which supported Miller after the primary. Though she plans to caucus with Republicans, she said she won’t be beholden to any special interests or party — an initial sign that she may not try to reclaim her leadership post within the Republican conference. She voluntarily resigned it in deciding to make her outsider run.
The last Senate candidate to win as a write-in was Strom Thurmond in 1954 and no write-in campaign on this scale had ever succeeded in Alaska, but the long-shot nature of Murkowski’s campaign seemed to invigorate the senator and her team.
Miller, meanwhile, had several missteps after the primary. Court documents were released showing that he had been suspended as a government employee for using work computers for partisan political work and lying about it. In other miscues, his security detail handcuffed a journalist asking questions at a town hall meeting and it was revealed his family received many government handouts that he railed against as a Tea Party candidate.
Murkowski’s victory became apparent after days of ballot counters and observers scrutinizing the handwriting of more than 100,000 ballots bearing her name.
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