Murkowski certified winner in Alaska race

JUNEAU, Alaska, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Alaska officials Thursday certified Lisa Murkowski the winner of the state's U.S. Senate race, but it was unclear whether the decision would yet be challenged.

The incumbent Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate after losing the Republican primary to Tea Party-backed candidate Joe Miller. Miller lost his challenge to the Election Board decision to count misspellings of Murkowski's name as valid, giving her a 10,000-vote lead, in the state courts and in U.S. District Court. He has said he would decide by Friday whether to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, The Hill reported. Democrat Scott McAdams came in third in the contest.

Murkowski's win was certified by Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.

Murkowski campaign manager Kevin Sweeney said it "feels great" to finally have Murkowski declared the winner, Politico reported.

"We spent six weeks running a campaign, and it took eight weeks to get the final result," Sweeney said in a statement. "While the long wait may make it anticlimactic, it does not diminish the historic accomplishment of our campaign."

A Miller spokesman had no comment Thursday.