Another Senate approriator in trouble in Alaska

Fox News:

A decorated Gulf War veteran was holding a narrow lead over Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Republican Senate primary, as ballots continued to be counted Wednesday in what could shape up to be a stunning political upset.

Polls taken before primary day had shown Murkowski, a two-term senator from an Alaska political dynasty, leading handily against the first-time candidate. But challenger Joe Miller insisted all along that the state's polling was unreliable -- as of Wednesday morning, Miller held a 2,000-vote lead.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, he had 51 percent and Murkowski had 49 percent. The number of uncounted absentee ballots, though, exceeded the number of votes separating the candidates.

The Alaska race marked the second surprise from a Tea Party-backed candidate in Tuesday's elections. Health care executive Rick Scott earlier defeated Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum for that state's GOP gubernatorial nomination after polls also showed McCollum pulling away from Scott.

Miller had the added help of an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a history with the Murkowski family. Palin defeated Murkowski's father Frank in the 2006 gubernatorial primary. Though there was speculation over whether she might challenge Murkowski for her seat, Palin instead endorsed Miller after leaving the governor's office.

Murkowski has proudly touted her seniority after eight years in office, and said her roles on the appropriations and energy committees put her in a strong position to ensure Alaskans' voices are heard. She denounced Miller for making what she considered deceptive statements about her votes and statements.

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It just not pay to be a big spender these days. Voters are more concerned about the growing deficit than they are about the goodies.

This is a race where the Tea Party strongly backed Miller and had indicated their polling showed him closing in recent days even though he was outspent by a significant amount. I am sure that the Palin backing made a difference to Alaska voters too.

If he holds on to win the general election, it will mean the Senate will be even more conservative.