Single vote decides statehouse contest

JUNEAU, Alaska — Republican Bart LeBon has won an Alaska state House race by one vote after a ballot recount.

Before the recount, LeBon and Democrat Kathryn Dodge were tied with 2,661 votes apiece. Recount results Friday showed LeBon with 2,663 votes while Dodge had 2,662 votes, after LeBon picked up two votes and Dodge picked up one, according to the Alaska Division of Elections. A much discussed mystery ballot found at a voting precinct ended up playing no role in the outcome. The ballot was tossed Friday after it was determined to be a spoiled ballot from a voter who had made a mistake on it and then filled out a new ballot.

If LeBon’s win holds up, the GOP will control the House, Senate and governor’s office. Dodge has five days to decide whether to appeal the outcome to the state Supreme Court. She didn’t make a definitive comment after the recount, saying she and her team would “think on things,” the Juneau Empire reported .

“People kept calling it close,” Dodge previously said of the race. “I just didn’t know it was going to be squeaky.”

If a legal challenge resulted in another tie, the winner would be determined by a coin toss.

Becky Bohrer and Lisa Baumann are Associated Press writers.