Murkowski certified winner of Alaska Senate race

 Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been certified the winner of Alaska’s Senate race following a nearly two-month legal battle.

State officials on Thursday signed paperwork making her win over GOP rival Joe Miller official.

Murkowski becomes the first U.S. Senate candidate since Strom Thurmond in 1954 to win with a write-in campaign. Murkowski will be sworn in when Congress begins its new term next week.

Miller won the primary in August, prompting Murkowski to run for re-election as a write-in. Miller then sued the state over its handling of the race as Murkowski toppled him in the general election.

Three courts upheld election results favoring Murkowski, with a federal judge on Tuesday lifting a stay on certification that he’d imposed to give the courts time to rule on Miller’s claims.

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