Alaska Senate race is one big mystery

So who's winning in the Alaska Senate race? Right now the leader is "write-in candidates."

With 76 percent of votes recorded, the "write-in" option was leading with 41 percent of the vote. Republican Joe Miller was receiving 34 percent and Democrat Scott McAdams was at 24 percent.

Incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, beaten by Miller in the GOP primary, launched a write-in campaign. Under election rules, the write-in ballots aren't initially counted for individual candidates.

If the write-in option wins or comes within 1 percentage point of the top vote-getter, the ballots will be individually evaluated to determine which names voters wrote in. That process could take weeks.

And that means a result may be a long time coming.

Gay marriage ruling costs three jobs
Iowa voters have voted to remove three state Supreme Court justices, siding with conservatives angered by a ruling that allowed gay marriage.

The vote Tuesday was the first time high court justices have lost a retention election in Iowa.

The three who weren't retained were Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and justices David Baker and Michael Streit. They were the only justices up for retention this year.

They were on the court of seven justices who unanimously decided last year that an Iowa law restricting marriage to one man and one woman violated the state's constitution.

Gay marriage opponents spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the campaign. A group of former governors, lawyers and judges said the justices' removal would threaten Iowa's independent judiciary.

How did sports figures fare?
One-time pro wrestling executive Linda McMahon was taken down in Connecticut on Tuesday, losing her bid for a U.S. Senate seat in one of some two dozen races across the country involving sports figures.

McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment who presented herself as a shrewd businesswoman, was beaten by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

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Election Day also might have been something of a referendum on former NBA centers. Chris Dudley, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers, was in an extremely tight contest for governor in Oregon, and 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley was trailing in his bid to join the Utah Legislature.

Heath Shuler, the former quarterback for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints, was re-elected to Congress from North Carolina in an important race for Democrats. Shuler, part of the conservative Blue Dog coalition, held off Republican Jeff Miller in a campaign in which the football star tried to show where he broke with his party's leadership.

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Republican Jon Runyan, a former Philadelphia Eagles lineman who spent 14 years in the NFL, defeated Democrat John Adler in a tight U.S. House race in New Jersey. Republican Jason Chaffetz, who once kicked 10 extra points in a game for BYU, was re-elected to Congress from Utah.

Alan Page, the Pro Football Hall of Famer for the Minnesota Vikings, kept his seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The U.S. Senate is losing its headline sports figure with the retirement of Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning of Kentucky.

Dead candidate is winning
Democrat Jenny Oropeza was holding an early lead in a state Senate race in California — even though the 53-year-old incumbent died Oct. 20.

After she died, Democrats sent out mailers to voters, calling on them to re-elect her anyway. Republicans filed a complaint that the pamphlets were too similar to official election documents.

If Oropeza defeats Republican John Stammreich, the governor will have two weeks to declare her seat empty and schedule a special election within three to four months. That allows Democrats a chance to find a new candidate to run for Oropeza's seat.

The 28th district includes parts of Los Angeles, Long Beach and the South Bay. The district is largely Democratic.

NBC News and NBC station KNBC contributed this report.