Alaska's U.S. Senate race is still too close to call, and the final answer may come from voters' second choices. Democrat Mary Peltola held a razor-thin lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in early returns, about 48.2% to 47.9%, with neither above 50%, so ranked-choice tabulation is set for November 18 and certification is targeted for November 25. The margin is only a few hundred votes, while roughly 7,500 votes for perennial Republican candidate Gerald Heikes and retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, who shares the incumbent's name, could decide the outcome. A preliminary FairVote analysis of partial ballot data shows the senator gaining ground in the ranked-choice count and leading 51% to 49%, but it does not match official results, and ballots are still being counted.

The second Dan Sullivan is at the center of a major fight, with Republicans and the Trump administration alleging Democrats recruited him as a spoiler to confuse voters. The Justice Department has a criminal probe underway, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation, while Peltola says she had no knowledge of any recruiting effort and the Democratic Senate campaign committee says it was not involved. So far the courts have not removed him, as a federal judge dismissed the DOJ's civil lawsuit, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled he can stay on the ballot, and reporting notes there is no Alaska law against encouraging someone to run unless bribery is involved. Supporters of ranked-choice voting say it lets people rank their preferences honestly, while critics say it is confusing and open to tactics like this. Between the count on November 18 and the investigations, it may be weeks before voters know who won and whether the controversy will matter.