Republican Nick Begich edges closer to winning the U.S. House seat in Alaska.

Updated: 33 seconds ago Published: 7 minutes ago

Republican Nick Begich III has increased his lead over Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the closely watched Alaska U.S. House race after the latest count of 38,000 ballots. On November 12, it was reported that Begich led by 9,550 votes, about 3% ahead of Peltola.

With approximately 71,000 ballots remaining, including early and absentee votes, the Alaska Division of Elections is currently counting first-choice votes. Should no candidate exceed the 50% threshold, the ranked-choice tabulation kicks in on November 20.

As per the latest tally, Begich has garnered 49.1% of the votes while Peltola has 45.81%. Other candidates, including Independence Party’s John Wayne Howe and Democrat Eric Hafner, hold 3.87% and 1% respectively.

In addition, a measure to repeal ranked choice voting is gaining momentum, narrowing the deficit from over 4,000 to 2,841 votes against its support.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.