• Division of Elections will begin counting its estimated 50K absentee and questioned ballots today. The division expects to get through less than half of the votes. It will update the tallies at the end of the day. As of right now, Dan Sullivan leads Sen. Mark Begich by about 8,100 votes and Bill Walker leads Gov. Sean Parnell by about 3,000 votes. The Fairbanks News Miner has a more detailed breakdown of they types of ballots and the collective assumptions of the ballot results.

• The HuffingtonPost took at look at Latino voters and Nov. 4 election. Immigration was the main issue on their minds as they headed to the polls and while Democrats won the majority of those ballots being cast, President Obama’s empty immigration talk meant Republicans picked up a sizeable chunk because it is now abundantly clear this voting block is no longer happy with overtures-results are required for voter loyalty.

• The Alaska Journal of Commerce announced that the BOEM has updated the Chukchi lease sale, though regulations still need to be met before drilling can occur making exploration in 2015 unlikely. That might have something to do with six environmental groups filing a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to protect walruses from oil drilling off Alaska’s coast.

• Red-state Democrats are finding themselves in a new position of power heading into 2015 as bipartisan leaders for Sen. Mitch McConnell or Sen. Harry Reid according to Politico.

• Coincidentally perhaps, just in time for a third quarter conference call, the Alaska Dispatch wrote a glowing piece about ACS’s bright future. Unfortunately, the very same day, the financial newsletter The Street, downgraded the stock from “hold” to “sell.” The Dispatch’s article notes the state contract that the company recently received, which to investors at least, sounds pretty stable. It didn’t mention, however, that the contract was just one part—and the smallest part–of a larger state contract that went to other telecom companies. As of midday Tuesday, ACS’s stock was hovering at $1.35, down from a yearly high of $2.70.

• Over at The Hill, much attention was directed at the future of healthcare. The architect of ObamaCare said during a recorded panel discussion that federal healthcare passed because the legislation lacked transparency and because of the “stupidity of the American voter.” Add to that is the fact that there are five new obstacles for ObamaCare, would might explain why HHS is expecting fewer sign-ups this open enrollment cycle.

• Rep. Bob Lynn is introducing a bill that regulates pot, per the Fairbanks News Miner.

• The Tea Party is not only getting more established, but smarter in how they handle issues and to whom they back in elections. Case in point:  Joe Miller.  An operative told Slate, “OK, we learned our lesson,” explaining why conservative donors snubbed Miller. “He can say some crazy shit.”

• The Hill believes that it is unlikely Pres. Obama’s Attorney General pick, Loretta Lynch, will be pushed through during the lame duck session. In other Loretta Lynch news, TalkingPointsMemo took BreitBart out to the woodshed over seriously sloppy journalism. BreitBart ran a piece few days ago about Loretta Lynch’s career and focused on the fact she was a member of Bill Clinton’s 1992 Whitewater defense team.  It heavily implied that her ties to the Clintons was the reason for her appointment.  Problem?  WRONG Loretta Lynch!

• USA Today has highlighted the six Congressional races that are still undecided. Alaska’s Senate race is not only one of the six, but Dan Sullivan’s picture leads the story.  Good thing he wore a camera-ready tie.  That picture is the go-to for this race.

• Alaska, meet the Salmon Cannon, or as John Oliver put it on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight,  this innovation proves, “We Can Do Great Things!” Agreed.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com