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Politics first reported 5d ago by The Hill · updated 18h ago

Peltola expands lead over Sullivan in Alaska Senate contest

Photo: The Hill
CRAYON summary

Democrat Mary Peltola has expanded her lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's uncalled Senate race as counting continues, reaching more than 10,000 votes, or nearly 4 points, according to Decision Desk HQ, and The Washington Times reports she declared victory on

Written by CRAYON from the outlets' reports below.
How the coverage differs

The Hill reports Peltola's lead growing from 637 to 2,517 first-choice votes and gives exact percentages, while Fox News describes her lead as narrow and says it shrank Wednesday. Both PBS NewsHour and Fox News center the Peltola campaign's lawsuit over rejected absentee ballots: PBS describes a judge still weighing the request for a list of rejected voters, and Fox reports that she lost the court bid. Newsweek and NBC News look ahead to the outcome, with Newsweek explaining that she needs 50 percent plus one to avoid ranked-choice tabulation and noting that remaining ballots come mostly from districts favoring her, and NBC saying she is on track to win even if ranked-choice ballots come into play. The Washington Times reports that Peltola has claimed victory over Sullivan, a development the other excerpts do not mention, which suggests the reports were written at different stages of the count.

CRAYON analysis of the outlets' accounts — read them below and judge for yourself.
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Coverage 6 sources · 11 reports · 2L2C2R

Chronological — read the same story from every side and decide for yourself.

  1. The Hill FIRST 5d ago Peltola expands lead over Sullivan in Alaska Senate contest

    Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) has expanded her lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in her state’s competitive Senate contest. The latest batch of votes to be counted reported Peltola leading by 2,517 first-choice votes which extended her lead of 637 from last week. She holds 48.63 percent of the vote, while Sullivan has 47.47…

  2. PBS NewsHour 3d ago Judge weighs lawsuit brought by Peltola campaign over absentee ballots in Alaska's Senate race

    The campaign of Alaska Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola is seeking a list of absentee voters whose ballots have been rejected in one of the most closely watched races of the midterm elections.

  3. The Hill 3d ago Alaska judge denies Peltola campaign request for list of rejected absentee ballots

    An Alaska judge denied former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) campaign request for a list of rejected absentee ballots amid the state’s competitive Senate election that is yet to be called. Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthew ruled that Alaska’s Division of Election (DOE) is “currently busy processing ballots from the 2026 general election” and “simply lacks…

  4. Fox News 3d ago Peltola campaign loses in court on rejected absentee ballots as she maintains narrow lead

    Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola lost her court bid for ballot records and saw her narrow Alaska lead over Dan Sullivan shrink Wednesday.

  5. The Hill 3d ago Peltola holds lead after latest Alaska Senate vote drop

    Former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) campaign said Wednesday that Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is running out of opportunities to overcome her lead in the state’s closely contested Senate race. The warning came after the latest batch of ballots showed the incumbent making only modest gains in a traditionally Republican stronghold. Peltola leads Sullivan by 3,975…

  6. PBS NewsHour 2d ago Alaska judge rules a request by Peltola campaign for ballot data in Senate race is 'not reasonable'

    An Alaska judge ruled Wednesday that a request by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign for a list of absentee voters whose ballots have been rejected is "not reasonable," particularly given the time crunch election officials face as they continue counting ballots from last week's election.

  7. Newsweek 2d ago Mary Peltola’s Path to Winning Alaska Senate Race Outright

    Peltola needs at least 50 percent +1 to avoid ranked-choice tabulation. Most remaining ballots are from districts favoring her.

  8. The Hill 2d ago Peltola extends lead after new Alaska Senate ballots count

    In the last uncalled Senate race of 2026, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) gained an additional 5,000 newly counted votes Thursday and extended her lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Peltola leads Sullivan by 5,800 votes as of 9:30 a.m. Friday and surpassed Sullivan’s lead in the ranked choice run-off, according to a calculation by…

  9. The Hill 26h ago Peltola holds nearly 4-point lead on Sullivan in latest ballot drop

    Democrat Mary Peltola has again expanded her lead in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race with more votes counted, now ahead of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) by nearly 4 points, or more than 10,000 votes, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). Peltola netted nearly 2,000 votes from the latest batch of votes added. The Alaska Democrat now…

  10. The Washington Times 20h ago Peltola declares victory in Alaska Senate race

    Democrat Mary Peltola claimed victory on Saturday in Alaska's Senate race over incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

  11. NBC News 18h ago Why Mary Peltola is on track to win in Alaska, even if ranked choice ballots come into play

    As Alaska continues to count and report votes weeks after Election Day, it is increasingly unlikely that Republican Sen.

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