One week after polls closed in Alaska, The Associated Press declared Republican candidate Dan Sullivan the winner of that state’s Senate race.
The AP made with the call at 4:50 a.m. EST (that’s only a little past midnight in Anchorage).
“Sullivan led [incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark] Begich by about 8,100 votes on Election Night last week and held a comparable edge after election workers had counted about 20,000 absentee, early-voted and questioned ballots late Tuesday,” the report reads. “Thousands more ballots remained to be counted, but the results indicated that Begich could not overcome Sullivan’s lead.”
Sullivan’s win over Begich helps cement the Republican “wave” election in 2014, bringing their majority in the Senate up to 53 seats.
Despite the call, Begich has so far refused to concede the race. Begich is no stranger to nail-biter endings, after having defeated Republican Sen. Ted Stevens by fewer than 4,000 votes in 2008.