With all but nine of the 438 voting precincts in Alaska reporting, Rep. Don Young leads his GOP primary challenger Sean Parnell 45.48%-45.32% -- a difference of 145 votes. Parnell, Alaska's lieutenant governor, had led yesterday's contest until rural votes were counted early in the morning, giving Young the lead with just 2% of precincts left to count, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Although Young has won relatively easily over the last three decades, his association with an FBI corruption probe -- part of which led to the recent indictment of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens -- placing his re-election to an 18th full term representing Alaska on thin ice.

Democrat Ethan Berkowitz now must wait for the final results to come in before he knows who his general election competition will be. The former state representative won 54%-37% over Diane Benson, who was the 2006 Democratic nominee for the seat.

If Parnell pulls out the win, he and Berkowitz will face each other in a second straight election, as both were running mates in the 2006 election for governor. Republican Sarah Palin won 48%-41% over Democrat Tony Knowles, making Parnell the lieutenant governor.

--Kyle Trygstad