GOP establishment favorite holds lead in Alaska Senate primary

Republican establishment favorite and former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan held the lead in early returns late Tuesday as he attempted to prevent a primary upset and secure the GOP mantle to take on vulnerable Democratic Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska.

With 20 percent of the precincts reporting, Sullivan led Tea Party favorite and 2010 GOP primary winner Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. Sullivan had 40 percent of the vote, while Miller had garnered 33 percent, with Treadwell a distant third at 24 percent.

Sporadic polling has shown Sullivan ahead, but the race represents one of the last chances this year for a Tea Party-backed underdog to take down the favored candidate of GOP powerbrokers.

Leaving nothing to chance, Sullivan spent the last few days covering nearly 900 miles in an RV.

'I think that it's Dan Sullivan's [primary] to lose,' said Alaska politics blogger Amanda Coyne, who's been covering the race, particularly the polling and media campaigns.

But the race is tight enough that nothing is inevitable, said James Muller, professor of political science at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

'Most of the polls I've seen show the race is tightening,' he told FoxNews.com. 'The big question right now is how good turnout will be.'

The race is important to Republicans nationally since Begich, a first-term incumbent Democrat, is seen as vulnerable and the GOP needs a net gain of six seats to take control of the Senate.

Sullivan was considered the front-runner early on in part due to his fundraising prowess, which has rivaled that of Begich. Roughly $4 million in attacks have been run against Sullivan by a pro-Begich super PAC, with much of the knocks against him over his residency -- a big deal in Alaska.

Sullivan is from Ohio, but his wife is from Alaska and his roots here date to the 1990s. He left the state in 2002 for stints in George W. Bush's administration and overseas with the military, before returning in 2009 and being appointed attorney general by Sarah Palin.

Palin, though, on Friday threw her support behind Miller.

Miller is largely considered a wild card and long-shot, but he's running a race that smacks of 2010, when he upset Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the GOP primary, though he ended up losing to her in the general election after she ran a write-in campaign.

He has a network of loyal supporters, attention from conservative talk radio hosts and endorsements from anti-abortion and Tea Party-style groups.

'I'm going to win, with God's help and the people's help, let's put it that way,' Miller told . 'I am convinced the people of this state are going to make the right decision.'

Treadwell has cast himself as the 'electable' conservative, in contrast with Miller. Treadwell also has played up his decades-long ties to the state, as opposed to Sullivan. He believes his knowledge of Alaska issues, from fisheries to aviation, make him the strongest candidate to challenge Begich. His endorsements include four-time Iditarod champ Martin Buser and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Alaska voters also will decide on nominees for governor, the U.S. House and whether to repeal a new tax on oil companies operating in the state Tuesday night, though most Americans will wake up to the results Wednesday.

Another western state, Wyoming, also held its primary election Tuesday.

In one contest, U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi soundly beat four little-known Republican challengers in his pursuit of a fourth term. They included retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan Miller of Sheridan, a self-employed business consultant and a former advance agent who helped plan visits around the country and abroad by presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Also seeking the Republican Senate nomination were self-described soldier of fortune Thomas Bleming of Lusk, oil company worker Arthur Bruce Clifton of Cheyenne and James Gregory of Jackson.

Meanwhile, Rep. Cynthia Lummis won the Republican primary election for Wyoming's lone congressional seat, defeating little-known challenger Jason Senteney and all but assuring she will win a fourth term in November.

Lummis was first elected to the House in 2008. She will face Democrat Richard Grayson, an Arizona resident who has done no campaigning.

contributed to this report.



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