Closest U.S. Senate elections in Alaska

The tightest U.S. Senate races Alaska has held, ranked by the margin between the top two candidates.

The closest U.S. Senate election in Alaska history was in 2022, a margin of 0.76 points. Lisa Murkowski beat Kelly C. Tshibaka, 114,118 to 112,101. Next closest are 2008 (1.3 points) and 2014 (2.1 points).

Every state is ranked together on Closest U.S. Senate elections in history. For every Senate race Alaska has held, special elections included, see the Alaska U.S. Senate hub.

What is the closest Senate race in Alaska history?

The Alaska Senate election decided by the narrowest margin was in 2022, 0.76 points. Lisa Murkowski beat Kelly C. Tshibaka, 114,118 to 112,101. The next closest were 2008 (1.3 points) and 2014 (2.1 points).

How is the margin measured?

As the gap in vote share between the first and second-place finishers, from the certified general-election count. It is not adjusted for recounts, runoffs or later court rulings; the figure is the result as certified.

Does this include special elections?

No. These are the regular general elections for Alaska’s two Senate seats. Special elections to fill a vacancy appear on the Alaska Senate hub, which lists every race including specials, and in a few states one of those is closer than anything here.

Why does the list start in 1914?

Because senators were chosen by state legislatures before the Seventeenth Amendment. 1914 is the first cycle of the popular-vote era for the Senate, so it is the first Alaska election with a popular margin to measure.

Closest U.S. Senate elections in Alaska
#	Election	Result	Votes	Margin
1	2022	Lisa Murkowski R def. Kelly C. Tshibaka R	114,118 – 112,101	0.76 points
2	2008	Mark Begich D def. Ted Stevens R	151,767 – 147,814	1.3 points
3	2014	Dan Sullivan R def. Mark Begich D	135,445 – 129,431	2.1 points
4	2004	Lisa Murkowski R def. Tony Knowles D	149,773 – 140,424	3.0 points
5	2010	Lisa Murkowski R def. Joe Miller R	101,091 – 90,839	4.0 points
6	1968	Michael Gravel D def. Elmer E. Rasmuson R	36,527 – 30,286	7.7 points
7	1980	Frank H. Murkowski R def. Clark S. Gruening D	84,159 – 72,007	7.8 points
8	1986	Frank H. Murkowski R def. Glenn Olds D	97,674 – 79,727	9.9 points
9	2020	Dan Sullivan R def. Al Gross D	191,112 – 146,068	12.7 points
10	1992	Frank H. Murkowski R def. Tony Smith D	127,163 – 92,065	14.6 points
11	2016	Lisa Murkowski R def. Joe Miller L	138,149 – 90,825	15.2 points
12	1962	Ernest J. Gruening D def. Ted Stevens R	33,827 – 24,354	16.3 points
13	1974	Michael Gravel D def. C. R. Lewis R	54,361 – 38,914	16.6 points
14	1960	Edward L. Bartlett D def. Lee L. McKinley R	38,041 – 21,937	26.8 points
15	1990	Ted Stevens R def. Michael Beasley D	125,806 – 61,152	34.0 points
16	1984	Ted Stevens R def. John E. Havelock D	146,919 – 58,804	42.7 points
17	1966	Edward L. Bartlett D def. Lee L. McKinley R	49,289 – 15,961	51.1 points
18	1978	Ted Stevens R def. Donald Hobbs D	92,783 – 29,574	51.5 points
19	1972	Ted Stevens R def. W. Eugene Guess D	74,216 – 21,791	54.6 points
20	1998	Frank H. Murkowski R def. Joseph A. Joe Sonneman D	165,227 – 43,743	54.8 points
21	1996	Ted Stevens R def. Jed Whittaker G	177,893 – 29,037	64.2 points
22	2002	Ted Stevens R def. Frank Vondersaar D	179,438 – 24,133	67.7 points

How this ranking is measured

U.S. Senate general elections in Alaska, ranked by the smallest gap in vote share between the top two finishers, 1914 to the present, closest 25 shown. Served from the senate_race_margin materialized view. Special elections are excluded, and so is any contest where the top two did not draw at least 1,000 votes between them or where the recorded winner was not the vote leader. The national list of the closest Senate races anywhere applies a 50,000-vote floor, which is why a small early race can appear here and not there.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources · data last verified September 30, 2026.