Young still ahead of Parnell in tight House race
Published Saturday, September 6, 2008
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Stumble It!JUNEAU — U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska still holds a slim lead in a tight primary race against state Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
Young's lead grew to 172 votes — up from 151 votes after the Aug. 26 primary election — as election workers were counting the last of the absentee and questioned ballots on Friday.
Though the difference separating Young and Parnell was only 0.16 percent, campaign spokesman Mike Anderson said Young was cautiously optimistic.
"Twenty-one votes is great, we're happy about that, but it's not over until the rest of the votes come in," Anderson said.
Parnell could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Young, the subject of a federal investigation for his ties to oil field services company VECO Corp., is seeking his 19th term as Alaska's lone congressman. The latest figures from the state Division of Elections, show him ahead of Parnell by 47,422 to 47,250 with five Anchorage House districts still to be counted late Friday.
Division director Gail Fenumiai said the final returns were slow in arriving because the ballots hadn't been opened and prepped ahead of time.
Meanwhile, overseas absentee ballots are still being accepted until next Wednesday when they will be counted.
The division hopes to certify the election results by Sept. 18.
The defeated candidate or 10 qualified voters who think an error has been made in the count have five days after certification to request a recount. A tie vote will trigger an automatic recount.
Young said in a press statement Friday that the final outcome may not be known for several weeks, but he added, "In the meantime, I am campaigning with the full intention of being the Republican nominee in the general election."
The winner of the primary will face the Democratic challenger Ethan Berkowitz in the November general election.
Community Discussion
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What a shame that someone as arrogant and possibly corrupt as Young could take this race.
The irony here is that one of these candidates will be needlessly throwing money away because the election officials can't do their job in a timely manner (i.e. less money for Don to spend on lawyers). Maybe that is where change needs to begin!
Good luck Rep. Young. You have done us well in the past and I hope you will be there for us in the future.
Alaskans, you deserve what ever you get, re-elect the same crooks and expect something different. Shame on you all,,
Stevens and Young will most likely be re elected and if found guilty, a Republican Governor will replace them with Republicans.
That's my hope, too. They will sit in prison and our governor will have cleaned house. Probably will be the first time in history that the entire congressional delegation was appointed by the governor(s).
Bugger
Neither Ted Stevens, nor Don Young have done anything to defraud Alaskans, or to make folks wish for something different. They have served us well, and done their jobs. Stevens stands ACCUSED of helping VECO win a federal contract, Young, of inserting an "earmark" for building a Florida highway interchange. In both cases, the allegation is they did these things for personal gain. Even if both are EVENTUALLY found guilty, they have not harmed Alaskans. Discerning people with intelligence are aware of this, hence the primary election results...
Great job , Young has been our Servant and brought this great State to where it is today and deserves our vote,Pipeline,Red-dog mine and countless other Economic developements and Alaskans are there for you when ask for Support.
allhaileris.....you say "they have not harmed Alaskans". Alaskans are citizens of the United States of America, if case you've forgotten. When a politician goes bad like Stevens and Young have, it harms not only each and every citizen of this nation but weakens the very foundation of our nation. Stevens and Young are a good reason that term limits might be a good idea in congress.
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