Murkowski pulls ahead in Alaska vote count and blasts Palin

Lisa Murkowski has taken the lead in the Alaska vote count. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The drama of the Alaska vote count has intensified as Lisa Murkowski has pulled ahead of Joe Miller. Miller is contesting some of the write-in votes in a lawsuit. Murkowski also took some serious shots at former governor Sarah Palin.

Murkowski gaining lead in Alaska vote count

Lisa Murkowski has pulled ahead of Joe Miller in the hotly contested Alaska vote count for the Alaska Senate election. Murkowski launched a write-in campaign after Joe Miller won an upset victory over Murkowski in the Alaska Republican primary, much to the delight of former governor Sarah Palin. Miller is a Tea Party Republican and was heavily backed by Palin, but an endorsement from Palin may end up meaning little for Miller. Currently, Murkowski 92,164 to Miller’s 90,458, according to the Anchorage Daily News. There are still more than 8,000 ballots that remain to be counted, but so far 97 percent of write-in ballots have gone to Murkowski. Joe Miller has challenged 7,601 of the write-in votes, but the court has yet to recognize the challenge. Murkowksi’s campaign maintains the law allows for interpreting voter intent.

Murkowski blasts Sarah Palin

Palin and Murkowski have a bitter history, as Palin has taken numerous swipes at Murkowski in the press. Lisa Murkowski recently fired back, saying in an interview with Katie Couric that Palin “lacks intellectual curiosity” and doesn’t have “leadership skills” a president needs, according to CBS. While praising her skills at rallying public support, she also brought up that while Palin was serving her half-term as governor, she did not seem terribly engaged in the office and left as soon as she could.

Final vote count ahead

The final Alaska vote count is not far off, as the last ballots are being gathered and reviewed. While the lawsuit by Miller is still pending, the suit does not appear to be progressing quickly and may end up being tossed. Should Murkowski win, she will be the first write-in candidate elected to office in more than 50 years.