as extraordinarily ambiguous. A Miller loss would be a huge slap to Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express. Palin endorsed Miller over Murkowski for the state's GOP Senate primary, and the national Tea Party group followed suit. Murkowski lost the primary in August -- and conceded the race. Shortly after, Murkowski launched a write-in bid to retain her seat. Murkowski was first appointed to her post by her father, then-Gov. Frank Murkowski, in 2002. Palin defeated him in the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary. CNN's Kristi Kreck contributed to this report.