Peltola Edges Sullivan in Close Alaska Senate Race
Mary Peltola holds a narrow first-choice lead over Dan Sullivan as Alaska counts ballots in its Senate contest.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Elections
Mary Peltola has pulled slightly ahead of Dan Sullivan in the Alaska U.S. Senate race, which remains too close to call. As of noon Tuesday, 220,853 ballots had been counted, with Peltola at 48.6% and Sullivan at 47.5%.
Why it matters
No candidate has yet cleared 50% of first-choice votes, so ranked choice tabulation will decide the outcome if no one crosses that threshold in later counts. Peltola's lead comes from western and rural areas, while Sullivan holds the larger cities.
Peltola had 106,321 votes (48.6%) and Sullivan 103,804 (47.5%) of 220,853 ballots counted, with Heikes at 4,865 (2.2%) and Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr. at 3,651 (1.7%). Roughly 384,580 registered voters have not yet been counted in this tally, and the remaining ballots could shift the margin.
The players
Mary Peltola
Mary Peltola is a former Alaska congressional representative and Democrat who is currently running in the state's U.S. Senate race.
Dan Sullivan
Dan Sullivan is the Republican U.S. senator from Alaska who is seeking reelection in the state's Senate race.
Alaska Division of Elections
The Alaska Division of Elections is the state agency that administers voting and publishes vote counts in Alaska.
The details
The Alaska Division of Elections will release a new batch of votes Tuesday, and the count so far shows Peltola ahead in western and rural parts of the state while Sullivan leads in the larger cities. Ranked choice tabulation is scheduled for Nov. 18 if no candidate exceeds 50% in subsequent counts.
Timeline
Tuesday: Alaska Division of Elections releases a new batch of votes.
Nov. 18: Ranked choice tabulation is scheduled.
Nov. 25: Election results are set to be certified.
Political Context
Alaska's ranked choice voting system, which the state uses in its general elections, means a first-choice lead does not settle the race when no candidate tops 50%. Opposition and procedural questions around that system are not addressed in the available extraction, so its broader implications for this contest remain unclear.
Alaska voters are seeing a race that will not be settled by first-choice totals alone, so the final Senate representative may not be known until the ranked choice count finishes on Nov. 18. The certification date of Nov. 25 sets when official results will be locked in for the state.
The takeaway
Close races in Alaska can take weeks to resolve, since ranked choice tabulation may be needed before a winner is declared. Readers should watch for the Nov. 18 tabulation and the Nov. 25 certification to learn the final outcome.
What happens next
The Alaska Division of Elections will release a new batch of votes on Tuesday, ranked choice tabulation is scheduled for Nov. 18, and results are set to be certified Nov. 25.
Further reading
For more on how the contest is shaping up, see Elections coverage across the state.
