Rep. Young increases lead

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) increased his lead in the fight for his seat as the votes from absentee and provisional ballots were counted.

Young now holds a lead of 239 votes over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R) in the Republican primary, adding to the margin of 151 votes that had previously separated the two. Just over 12,000 votes were added to each candidate’s totals since the original count on August 26.

{mosads}A third, minor candidate, state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, slightly increased her share of the vote — from 9.21 percent to 9.33 percent — after the ballots were added in, potentially being a spoiler for Parnell, who had hoped he would be the only candidate to eat away at Young’s lead. After the additional votes are figured in, both LeDoux and Young increased their share of the vote, while Parnell lost ground.

The most recent results were posted on the Alaska Division of Elections website at 12:31 a.m. Alaskan time, or 4:31 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

“Tonight's updated vote count continues to give me a narrow lead in the Republican primary,” Young said in a statement. “While I am pleased to hold the lead at this stage of the process, it appears as if we won't know the final result for another two weeks.”

Young said he will return to Washington next week, when Congress comes back into session.

There are still more ballots to figure in, including an unknown number of absentee ballots from members of the armed services and others overseas. The Alaska Division of Elections will accept these ballots through Wednesday.

“Given that the current difference in votes is so small, anything can happen and we remain cautiously optimistic about the results,” Parnell said Friday night.

Parnell could still request a recount, free of cost, if the margin between him and Young is less than .5 percent after the infusion of the latest absentee ballots. The Division of Elections said it wants to have certified the results for the state's at-large seat by September 18. From then, Parnell or Young would have five days to formally request a recount. If the margin is beyond .5 percent, a recount could still be requested, though at a cost of $15,000 to the candidate.

The still razor-thin margin could mean the race could carry on for almost two more weeks, barring an unexpected concession.

Young or Parnell will face 2006 Lt. Gov. candidate Ethan Berkowitz (D) in the general election. According a poll this week, Berkowitz is favored to win over Young, who has been dogged by investigations into potential political corruption.

Berkowitz he would be an underdog against Parnell. Parnell, if he loses, would become governor of Alaska should vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin be elected as part of Republican presidential ticket.