Republican incumbents Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young walked away with easy wins in their primary races with most returns counted Tuesday night.
Murkowski, who has spent weeks crisscrossing the state visiting with voters, won more than 70 percent of the vote, easily beating out three challengers to secure her spot on the November ballot. The remaining votes were split among Republicans Paul Kendall and Thomas Lamb, both of Anchorage, and Bob Lochner of Wasilla.
Murkowski hoped to leave little to chance: raising millions of dollars, keeping a tireless schedule, running constant radio and television ads and hitting nearly every part of the state on her congressional-recess tour. The campaign comes after she lost her 2010 primary race to Republican Joe Miller, and won back her Senate seat with a write-in campaign.
Murkowski will face Democrat Ray Metcalfe in the general election, who was beating candidate Edgar Blatchford in the Democratic primary, drawing just over 50 percent of the counted vote. Blatchford scored around 32 percent. Libertarian Cean Stevens of Anchorage drew the remainder of the vote. As the only candidate for her party on the ballot Tuesday, Stevens will move on to the general election, along with at least three independent candidates.
U.S. House Rep. Don Young, who is seeking his 23rd term in Congress, easily bested his three Republican challengers. Young carried more than 70 percent of the tally. Challengers Gerald Heikes of Palmer and Jesse J. "Messy" Tingley of Wasilla each pulled about 5 percent of the vote, and Stephen Wright of Wasilla garnered about 20 percent of the vote.
Young will face Steve Lindbeck of Anchorage who had a strong lead with more than 58 percent of the Democratic primary vote, and Libertarian Jim McDermott of Fairbanks who was leading Jon B. Watts for that slot. Lindbeck was far ahead of Democrats Bill Hibler of Fairbanks and Lynette Hinz of Anchorage, who, combined, drew less than 25 percent of the vote.