Despite the Democratic takeover of Congress following the midterm elections on Tuesday, few races are still outstanding – one of which is the nation's most controversial Senate battle in Alaska.
The fight for the Last Frontier's Senate seat has attracted international attention as Democrats in the state have been accused of recruiting a similarly named candidate to run against GOP Senator Dan Sullivan, allegedly intending to confuse voters and help Democratic nominee Mary Peltola.
With about 74 percent of ballots counted, Peltola currently holds a razor-thin lead of 637 votes over Trump-backed incumbent Sullivan as of Friday morning – and it could still take until late November before a winner is declared.
The other 'decoy' Dan Sullivan has attracted 3,500 votes, making his candidacy potentially determinative.
As up to 70,000 potential votes are yet to be processed, both candidates have kept busy explaining to their supporters why they are more likely to benefit from the still outstanding votes.
Peltola posted a thread on X saying that: 'Tens of thousands of early votes and absentee ballots are still outstanding, and the data shows that these will break for Mary and extend her lead.'
Sullivan on the other side, published a statement on his website claiming that he will win if the state's unique ranked-choice voting tabulation comes to play.
Under Alaska's election system, if a candidate has more than 50 percent of the first-choice votes, they win outright, without a need to use ranked choice voting. But if no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.
Democratic hopeful Mary Peltola currently holds a narrow lead of little more than 600 votes over GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan
Dan Sullivan's campaign has kept busy outlining to voters how the Trump-backed candidate could still win his re-election bid
Ballots that ranked a failed candidate as their first choice are then re-counted as first-preference ballots for the next-highest-ranked candidate in that round.
But it might take until the end of the month before Alaskans will find out who their next Senator will be.
On Monday, November 10, the largest amount of outstanding ballots are scheduled to come in.
That would become the earliest date a winner could be declared - if Peltola or Sullivan reach 50 percent of the votes.
The state's deadline to finish counting all other absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots is on November 18.
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And even then, the target date set by the Alaska Division of Elections to officially certify the election results is not before November 25.
An accelerated FBI criminal probe into the 'decoy' candidate scandal happening at the same time could further turn this election thriller into a dramatic saga and cast more unknown over the Last Frontier.
Two sources familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail that agents questioned Peltola's former campaign manager on Election Day.
The FBI approached Elisa Rios in Chicago on Tuesday, two sources revealed.
'Full speed ahead,' is how one source described the inquiry.
Rios was allegedly involved in recruiting the second Dan Sullivan in an apparent effort to confuse voters and peel away votes from the incumbent.
Peltola has denied any involvement in the alleged scheme.
The Dan Sullivan 2.0 has reportedly left his hometown of Petersburg last week and has not been heard of since then
Two Dan Sullivans appear on Alaska's midterm ballot
But the other 'decoy' Dan Sullivan has attracted 3,500 votes, making his candidacy potentially determinative.
There's fear among conservatives that the 'decoy' candidate could take decisive votes from the incumbent and hand Peltola a win.
'What they said could happen appears to be happening,' a source familiar with the Department of Justice investigation told the Daily Mail.
Dan Sullivan 2.0 has repeatedly said he entered the race on his own and had no contact with Peltola's campaign.
But since a week before election day, he has not been located after he left his hometown two days before a New York Times report was published that accused the former teacher of being a liberal plant.
Senator Sullivan's campaign called the allegations 'the biggest election cheating scandal in the history of Alaska.'
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