JUNEAU — Republican Dan Sullivan won Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat in a hotly contested race, beating a first-term incumbent as voter disapproval of President Barack Obama swept Democrats out of office and allowed the GOP to seize control of the Senate.
Sullivan, a Marine Corps reservist and assistant secretary of State under President George W. Bush, defeated U.S. Sen. Mark Begich as part of a wave of victories by Republicans, who picked up eight Senate seats. Another race is yet to be decided in Louisiana.
The Alaska contest was too close to call on Election Night, with Sullivan up by about 8,100 votes, but it became evident Tuesday when the state began counting about 20,000 absentee and questioned ballots that Begich could not overcome his opponent.
Sullivan said in a statement that “my door will always be open to all Alaskans.”
“While we have challenges to address, the opportunities in Alaska and our country are limitless,” he said. “Today, we are going to begin the process of turning our country around.”
Begich, who has returned to Washington for the lame-duck session, won office in 2008. That year, he went to bed on Election Night trailing a wounded but still powerful Sen. Ted Stevens, who days before the election had been convicted in a federal corruption trial. About two weeks later, Stevens conceded, with Begich winning by fewer than 4,000 votes.
A judge later tossed the case against Stevens, causing many Republicans to see Begich’s election as a fluke.
Begich wouldn’t concede the race early Wednesday morning.
“Sen. Begich believes every vote deserves to be counted in this election,” campaign manager Susanne Fleek-Green said in an email to The Associated Press. “There are tens of thousands of outstanding votes and Sen. Begich has heard from rural Alaskans that their votes deserve to be counted and their voices deserve to be heard. He will honor those requests.”
The seat was initially considered key to the Republicans’ hopes of controlling the U.S. Senate, but that goal was accomplished early on Election Night.
Sullivan, a first-time candidate, ran a confident campaign, ignoring the debate schedule Begich released during the primary and setting his own agenda. He also attracted some star power to the state, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite, and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney rallying support.
Sullivan pledged to fight federal overreach, talked about the need for an energy renaissance in the U.S. and at seemingly every opportunity, sought to tie Begich to Obama and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who are unpopular in Alaska.
Begich said Sullivan offered little in the way of proposals for what he would do as senator. Begich touted his clout, including a position on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and tried to paint sharp contrasts between himself and Sullivan in areas such as women’s health, education and Alaska issues.
For example, Begich was born and raised in Alaska. He cast Sullivan, who grew up in Ohio, as an outsider, and many of the early attacks by pro-Begich groups keyed in to that theme. That perception of Sullivan made for an at-times uncomfortable debate on fisheries issues, in which questioners grilled Sullivan about his knowledge of one of Alaska’s most important industries.
On several occasions, Sullivan’s wife, Julie Fate Sullivan, an Alaska Native and frequent companion on the campaign trail, appeared in ads defending her husband’s ties to the state and his positions on women’s issues.
Sullivan has roots in Alaska dating to the 1990s but was gone for nearly seven years for military service and work in Washington, D.C. He returned to Alaska in 2009, when he was appointed attorney general by then-Gov. Sarah Palin. He most recently served as Alaska’s natural resources commissioner, a post he left in September 2013.
Sullivan hit the ground running, exhibiting a fundraising prowess that rivaled and sometimes exceeded that of Begich.
A turning point, in the view of many observers, was an ad from Begich’s campaign shortly after the primary that painted Sullivan as soft on crime. It featured a man identified as a former Anchorage police officer standing outside the home where an elderly couple was beaten to death and a family member sexually abused in 2013. It ended with the man saying Sullivan should not be a senator.
The ad, which Sullivan responded to with one of his own, was pulled after a demand from an attorney for the victims’ family.
This state and the country are in BAD shape with peoplelike Sullivan winning the election! Womens rights, a raise in minimum wages, social security, medicaid, immigration, and help of the poor and middle calss are now in jeopardy. God help our country with Republicans in control of congress!
Republicans may have won this election but the majority of Americans still do not like the Republican platform (cutting programs like Social Security, Medicare, and education to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy) and remember republicans still have to represent ALL Americans. So let them hear from you.
The Republican trickle-down theory of economics does not work. Because Americans that work for a living are not keeping up with inflation, our wages have remained stagnate as the upper 10% of Americans are stockpiling wealth. I think these things will become increasingly evident to Americans.
Dan Sullivan has aligned himself with people that don’t care about Alaskans or our way of life :(Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney? good grief ): Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski are out to hand over every corner of our state to extraction industries and we can't let them.
However, the race is not over. Every single Alaskan deserves to have their vote counted and if Senator Mark Begich looses this seat I hope he prepares for 2016 because Alaskans are going to need him.
God speed to Senator Mark Begich
According to voter registration requirements, an individual can become an Alaska voter after just 30 days residency. Worse yet even if they move somewhere else they can still vote here as long as they have the “intent” to return and they don’t register to vote anywhere else they are allowed to continue voting in Alaska elections.
We have a small population base and low voter turnout is a recepie for the perfect manipulation of this loophole by Dark Money contributors like the Koch brothers that spent multi millions of dollars to buy the candidate that will vote their way. Dan Sullivan is a Koch backed candidate. But he is not the only one who now occupy the Senate and the Legilature.
This kind of coupling between private corporations buying senate seats and the influence of a candidate is nothing new for either party. My absolute fear is the STATED agenda of the Koch's and how it will now be implemented.
This is David Kochs agenda when running agains Ronald Regan in the 1980s.
David Koch ran as the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1980.
Let’s take a look at the 1980 Libertarian Party platform.
Here are just a few excerpts of the Libertarian Party platform that David Koch ran on in 1980:
“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
“We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
“We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
“We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
“We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
“We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
“We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
“As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
“We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”
“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
“We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”
“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
“We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
“We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”
“We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
“We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
“We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”
“We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
“We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”
“We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
“We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
“We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”
Let's see how much of this Dan Sullivan will have to inact on the behalf Koch Brothers in order to pay back their more than generous campghn contributions.
This is a interesting side note. Perhaps, the biggest winners of Citizens United are Charles and David Koch, owners of the second-largest privately run business in America Koch Industries.
Among other things, the Koch brothers own oil refineries in Texas, Alaska, and Minnesota and control some 4,000 miles of pipeline.
According to Forbes Magazine, the Koch brothers are now worth $80 billion, and have increased their wealth by $12 billion since last year alone.
Folks keep your eyes peeled because I believe our votes were hijacked by outside voters that have not lived here more the 30 days but who will not ever live here, yet be allowed to vote in our state and local elections. They will vote the way the Dark Money dictates. Thanks to Citizens United for allowing this kind of out right purchase of our government.
I say it is high time we close these voting loopholes and overturn Citizens United before it is to late.