Score one, and a big one at that, for the tea party. On Tuesday, Alaska’s incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski conceded to underdog Joe Miller in the state’s race for the U.S. Senate in November’s midterm election. –KA

AP via Google News:

In arguably the biggest political upset of the year, Joe Miller claimed the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate when incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski conceded Tuesday evening. Murkowski gave up after failing to gain much ground in an count of outstanding absentee ballots.

Miller will be the favorite in November in strongly Republican Alaska against Democrat Scott McAdams, the mayor of Sitka.

But Senate Democrats moved quickly to see whether Miller’s victory could give them an opening in an otherwise difficult campaign season, conducting a poll to gauge the potential competitiveness of the race. Even before Murkowski conceded, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Democrats’ campaign committee, said in an interview his organization might come into the state behind McAdams.

Read more

WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG