Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski Wednesday declared victory over fellow Republican Joe Miller after reaching an insurmountable lead in the vote count.
She became the first write-in candidate elected to the Senate since 1954 after pulling significantly ahead of Miller in unchallenged write-in ballots and recording a sizable lead in total counted ballots.
“We did, we did,” Murkowski told supporters in Anchorage. “We made history … it is still a little bit mind-boggling.”
Two months to the day since the 53-year-old announced she would mount a write-in campaign to hold on to her seat after being upset by the Tea Party-backed Miller in the August primary, Murkowski said she was humbled by the support of Alaskans.
“Can you imagine that over 100,000 people wrote in the same name?” she said.
“Think about what that means in our day and age when we are so apathetic about politics.
“Alaskans knew exactly what they were doing and they showed their intent with every letter they put down on that ballot.”
Murkowski paid tribute to Miller and her Democrat opponent Scott McAdams.
“A thank you, and a genuine thank you, to Scott McAdams and Joe Miller,” she said.
“Both these men put their hearts and their souls into this campaign. I truly do wish them both well.”
Murkowski echoed the words of her longtime friend and mentor, former Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens, who died in a plane crash in August, in her victory speech.
“Ted’s motto was ‘to hell with politics, le’ts just do what’s right for Alaska,'” she said.
“[He also said] you do the impossible immediately, but miracles take a little longer.
“Well tonight after eight weeks I think we can say our miracle is here.”
Murkowski’s refusal to bow out of the race drew the ire of many Republican leaders and led to a war of words with Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and leading voice of the Tea Party.
Palin, who has a long-running political feud with the Murkowski family, continued to laud Miller and criticize Murkowski in the run-up to November 2.
However, Murkowski — who was appointed to the senate by her father, then-Governor Frank Murkowski, in 2002 when he resigned to serve in the state house — maintained that her decision had been prompted by an “incredible and phenomenal” outpouring of support from across the state.
“I looked into my heart and said ‘where is my heart?’ and my heart is Alaska, and I cannot leave you, and I cannot stop what we have started,” she told supporters after announcing her write-in campaign.
She accused Miller of being too radical for Alaska and took aim at his Tea Party support.
“The Tea Party Express out of California came in at the last minute and ran a mud-slinging campaign with smears, a terrible campaign with lies and fabrications,” Murkowski said after the primary defeat. “That influenced the outcome.”
Murkowski, the only woman ever elected to Congress from Alaska and the first senator born in Alaska, said prior to the election she would continue to caucus with Republicans if she retained her seat.
Earlier Wednesday, the Alaska Republican Party congratulated Murkowski “on her victory in Alaska’s US Senate race,” ahead of the incumbent’s victory announcement.
“At this point we are comfortable calling this race,” Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich said in a statement. “Lisa has won. We congratulate Lisa on her victory.”
Ruedrich paid tribute to Miller and called on him to concede the race.
“We commend Joe for running an energetic campaign,” Ruedrich said. “This was a free and fair election. It is now time to look forward.
“We call on Joe Miller to respect the will of the voters and end his campaign in a dignified manner. We have every expectation that Joe will do the right thing.”
Earlier Wednesday Miller said that he was “less cautiously optimistic than I was before” but added that he would continue to work to “ensure that integrity is part of the process.”
A write-in candidate’s name does not appear on the ballot, but voters may vote for them nonetheless by writing in their name. South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond was the last politician to successfully mount such a campaign when he ran for the Senate in 1954.
John McCain, with then-Gov. Palin running on his ticket for vice president, carried the solidly Republican state in the 2008 presidential election with 59 percent of the vote to Barack Obama’s 38 percent.