General Election

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Joe Miller’s campaign has called Sen. Lisa Murkowski's voting record into question. Murkowski has missed seven out of eight days of voting since she declared her write-in campaign. The Miller campaign says there's a contradiction in Murkowski's claim that she's running to fight for Alaska if she's not in Washington, D.C. to vote on the issues, including the defense bill addressing the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller refused to appeal Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in victory Friday afternoon, ending months of legal battles and closing the book on one of the state’s most historic political races. Miller defeated Murkowski in the Aug. 24 Republican primary, only to see write-in votes lead by about 10,000 votes in the Nov. 2 general election after Murkowski announced her write-in bid to reclaim her seat. Democratic candidate Scott McAdams came in third, and quickly conceded.

In the Republican race for lieutenant governor, Mead Treadwell has amassed a commanding lead with more than 53 percent of the vote. Fairbanks businessman and former state House member Jay Ramras received 31 percent of the vote, while former radio talk show host Eddie Burke got 13 percent of the vote. Treadwell says he thought his message resonated with voters. “We were working with all three camps running for governor in terms of being responsive to what Alaskans need,” Treadwell said.

With Sen. Lisa Murkowski staging a write-in bid to keep her seat this year, Alaska’s U.S. Senate race could easily turn into a maze of legal issues. Channel 2’s Rhonda McBride has a look at what turns the path could take. Murkowski launched her first write-in ad this week. Its tone is somber and serious -- quite a contrast from the exhilaration of Friday's announcement. “They tell us this is impossible, you cannot do it, Alaskans can't figure out how to fill in an oval and write M-U-R-K-O-W-S-K-I -- yeah, right,” Murkowski said.

With the general election just over a month away, candidates for Alaska’s open U.S. Senate seat aren't wasting any time. From barbecues to the Alaska Women's Show, Senate hopefuls spent the weekend campaigning. Sen. Lisa Murkowski spent Sunday at the Women's Show encouraging voters to write in her name, and reminding them to fill in the adjacent bubble on the ballot. Murkowski says she's seen a tremendous amount of support from Alaskans since announcing she would mount a write-in campaign.

by Channel 2 News staff Friday, January 22, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Fran Ulmer announced Friday she will retire from her post in 2011. Ulmer did not specify a date in her letter to the UAA community, but indicated she would be on the job for another 18 months. "There comes a time when retirement must be considered as part of life's journey," Ulmer wrote. "I have never spent much time thinking about retirement, at least in the traditional sense, because I want to remain as productive and engaged as possible for as long as I can. However, for a variety of personal and professional reasons, I plan to retire as chancellor of UAA in 2011.

Former Gov. Sarah Palin was a featured speaker at the Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner in Iowa Friday night. Her appearance is leaving pundits talking about whether she has plans to run in 2012. Palin's presence in Iowa, fresh from her influence in primaries across the nation, is rekindling speculations about her aspirations for the White House. “It's time for no more business as usual. It is time to take back our country,” Palin said. Palin was Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate in 2008, and in her first visit to Iowa this year, she joked about whether she wants top billing in 2012.

In a Friday announcement before the Alaska Resource Development Council, Gov. Sean Parnell said he wants to make some changes to the state's oil tax structure. Parnell wants to tinker with ACES, or Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share: the tax system championed by Parnell’s predecessor, former Gov. Sarah Palin, and strongly supported by Parnell after he inherited the job.   “Oil remains the backbone of our economy,” Parnell said. Parnell told the council that he's met with all the major oil producers to find a way to make the state's tax structure more competitive.

The day before the primary election, many absentee and early voters who dropped by the Anchorage Division of Elections office to cast their ballot, said this election seems to be quieter than others. "It seems like there's a few less people so hopefully in the general (election) it'll pick up," said Scott Williamson, a voter and precinct worker. Political columnist Michael Carey predicts the primary election will see low turnout since there are a number of uncontested races and voters will not be picking a governor or U.S. Senator.

After weeks of speculation on whether Sen. Lisa Murkowski would stay in the U.S. Senate race after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller, Murkowski announced Friday that she will run as a write-in candidate. One pollster says voters were shocked when Murkowski didn't defeat Miller in the primary, and adds that Murkowski’s write-in bid will give people a chance to vote for candidates rather than parties. Rumors of Murkowski’s candidacy swirled Friday morning, but she gave the official word shortly after 6 p.m. “And so today, my friends, my campaign for Alaska's future begins,” Murkowski said.