Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski wins re-election to the U.S. Senate over challenger Kelly Tshibaka

The Associated Press may project that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski will win re-election to the US Senate, defeating challenger Kelly Tshibaka.

The Alaska Senate race pitted Murkowski against fellow Republican Tshibaka, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and Democrat Pat Chesbro because of the state’s voting system.

Moderate Republican Murkowski She has served in the Senate since 2002, when she was appointed to the seat following the death of her father, the late Senator Frank Murkowski.

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) gives a thumbs up before going to the Senate floor for a procedural vote on federal legislation protecting same-sex marriage, at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Alaska’s Nov. 8 election uses ranked-choice voting, in keeping with a 2020 voter initiative that implemented open primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections.

Under the ranked choice voting system, voters select up to four candidates on the ballot in order of preference. A candidate can win outright if they receive more than 50% of the vote in the first round, but if no one reaches this threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the second choice of those ballots is counted. Rounds continue until a candidate has received more than 50% support.

WHAT IS RANKING ELECTION VOTING, THE NEW ELECTION PROCESS USED IN ALASKA?

Murkowski was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for “inciting insurrection” over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and said during an October debate that the former president should testify under a January 6 summons. 6 commission.

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The three candidates also sparred on the issue of abortion during an October debate, which became an election issue after the Supreme Court overturned 50 years of precedent protecting access to abortion , bringing the issue back to the states.

Murkowski said she would support “codification of Roe v. Wade” with limitations, while Tshibaka, backed by Trump, called for a nationwide ban. all abortions during the second trimester, or once the fetus feels pain.

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Colorado’s Senate delegation has been all-Democratic since former Republican Sen. Cory Gardner lost his 2018 re-election campaign.