Alaska Senate hopeful Joe Miller's campaign is gearing up for a legal fight over write-in ballots in the hotly contested race with Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Murkowski mounted a write-in bid after losing the GOP primary to Miller in August. Unofficial returns Tuesday night showed write-in ballots with a lead over Miller.

But it's not clear how many of those are votes for Murkowski; she was one of 160 candidates qualified to be written-in.

Miller campaign manager Robert Campbell says the overall results are disappointing; Miller had hoped to win the race outright Tuesday night. But Campbell said the race is far from finished. He said "several teams" -- with attorneys -- will be on their way to Alaska for the ballot count.

Miller sent supporters home from a returns-watching party.