Alaskan Cites 'Common Sense' Voters For Sen. Lead (Go Joe Go!)

cbs2chicago.com/AP ^ | Aug 26, 2010 11:39 pm | RACHEL D'ORO

[Syncro]

Alaskan Cites 'Common Sense' Voters For Sen. Lead

RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ― A conservative Alaska lawyer credits his primary vote lead over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski largely to "common sense" voters dissatisfied with the direction taken by Congress and President Barack Obama.

"Everybody understands the entitlement state is over," Joe Miller told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We can't continue to expend at the rate we're expending."

Miller, 43, of Fairbanks, stunned political pundits this week with his 1,688-vote lead over Murkowski in the Republican primary.

Murkowski, who was appointed by her father in 2002 when he was elected Alaska governor, was heavily favored to win — and still could. She expects to rally when thousands of absentee ballots are counted.

Murkowski, 53, asked the top attorney for the national Republicans' Senate campaign committee to help her campaign prepare for tallying about 20,000 absentee and questioned ballots.

Miller called the involvement the "power of the incumbency being brought to play." He said he expects a similar vote gap to remain when all the votes are counted. If there is not, "then we'll absolutely want to take a closer look and see if Alaskans' will has been thwarted by some sort of lawyer game."

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[Syncro]

The race's outcome will remain in limbo at least until Tuesday. That's when state elections workers will begin to count absentee ballots. They have until Sept. 8 to deliver a final tally

[Sybeck1]

And then Lisa will file for the Bull Moose party, right?

[BAW]

Perfect fodder for the weekend talk show talking heads. Ought to be fun to watch some of the spin.

[Syncro]

From TPX email:

As of Wednesday night, 9,519 absentee ballots had been received, but those also included an unknown number of absentee ballots cast in person at some precincts, Fenumiai said. It was not immediately known how many of those were Republican ballots.

Also, check this out:

EXCLUSIVE: Alaska LP Senate Candidate Dave Haase Is ‘Huge Sarah Palin Fan’

Posted on | August 26, 2010 | 13 Comments

Libertarian Party sources in Anchorage say they’ve been deluged with phone calls today from media and “political types” asking about the LP line on the ballot, which is Lisa Murkowski’s only hope to remain in the Senate unless her NRSC lawyer can find a way to steal the GOP nomination from Joe Miller.

Murkowski’s supporters “want us to keep an open mind and not say ‘no’ immediately” to their suggestion that LP Senate nominee Dave Haase step aside and let the incumbent Republican senator run as the Libertarian candidate on the Nov. 2 ballot.

In an e-mail Thursday to Ace of Spades HQ contributor Drew M., Haase praised Murkowski as a “smart lady” and said he had voted for her in the GOP primary.

However, the person who might be most able to sway Haase’s decision is none other than Sarah Palin.

[GoCards]

10 bucks not one Sunday talk show bring it up, not one.

[freekitty]

They wonder why we can’t stand the Rats? How about these Republican fools.

This is wrong.

[vaudine]

First it was 15,000 mail in ballots--now it is 20,000? I smell some Dem style fraud going on. Wouldn't doubt the Dems help murkowski.

vaudine

[wk4bush2004]

“As of Wednesday night, 9,519 absentee ballots had been received, but those also included an unknown number of absentee ballots cast in person at some precincts”

WAIT!!! Back the truck up here......don’t “absentee ballots cast in person” defeat the whole purpose of it being an “absentee ballot”?

I smell a foul stench of voter fraud on the horizon. This is a battle between the establishment and the people and the people MUST prevail!

[SuItan]

In a state as large as Alaska, nearly the area of the lower 48 states, and largely unaccessable except by air (as weather dictates)these ballots are considered ‘absentee’ until they are received at the counting station and are formally logged in. We may be backward here, but we like it that way....