U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski may well have done what few thought she could do: make history. She could become the first U.S. senator since 1954 to win a contentious write-in campaign.

Election results as of 8:50 a.m. Wednesday morning had write-in ballots, many of which may have gone to Murkowski, accounting for 41 percent of the vote. Since that exceeded 34 percent for tea party candidate Joe Miller, a Republican, and nearly 24 percent for Democrat Scott McAdams, state election officials will now count the write-ins as soon as absentee and questioned ballots are in.

In the end, the three candidates have split the vote so thoroughly that the winner will be sent to Washington, D.C., by a minority of Alaska voters. Nearly two-thirds voted for somebody else. (As of 8:50 a.m. Wednesday, 13,588 votes separated write-in candidates and Miller, while 20,874 votes separated Miller from McAdams.)

"Alaskans have been coming together -- Republicans and Democrats and independents and Greens and AIPs and Libertarians and nonpartisans ... and we are taking our state forward into the future," Murkowski told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night at the Egan Center. "We are making it happen. So we have got to wait just a little bit more. But we have waited this long ... we can wait it out."

By 10 p.m. Election Central at the Egan Center was jammed with people watching the results roll in on the giant screens dominating the front of the room. Candidates cruised through, many of them sitting or standing for interviews with the TV news crews lining the back of the room, their areas marked off with station logos and huge bouquets of red, white and blue balloons.

McAdams strode through trailed by cheering and chanting supporters. He acknowledged the vote total was not running in his favor but he wanted to see how rural Alaska came in before conceding defeat.

"It was great fun," McAdams said. "I'm glad I did it."

He was unsure of his future plans but he said he wants to stay in politics, "maybe even in my community."

"The biggest thing is that communities matter," he said, and encouraged people to get involved whether it was on their local school board, as a Boy Scout leader or in a community group.

A tense Joe Miller refused to make an appearance at Election Central, sending supporters home early. He had gathered with supporters and two country music performing artists at the Snow Goose Restaurant, but the crowd began dwindling as unfavorable results kept coming in. Miller left the Snow Goose with his family after telling reporters: "It's not over til it's over."

Still, he said, "Whatever happens, the end result is going to be good for the country."

Miller also told his supporters he will continue to need lots of volunteers in the weeks to come, suggesting he is not giving up on his pursuit of the senate seat.

Murkowski held a jubilant vigil with a happy crowd of supporters at the Dena'ina Center, where in September she announced she would make a historic run at becoming the first U.S. senator to win by write-in vote since Strom Thurmond succeeded in 1954 in South Carolina. She spent a lot of time and money in the last few weeks educating voters on how to spell her name and how to properly fill in the oval next to her name on the write-in ballot.

Murkowski swept into Election Central about 11:30 p.m. with supporters chanting: "Lisa! Lisa! Lisa!" and "Six more years!"

John Young, a Murkowski supporter from Anchorage, said: "We don't care how they do it in Outside. Tonight, Alaska spoke."

A contentious campaign

The all-out war for the hearts and votes of Alaskans was set in motion Aug. 24 when GOP unknown Joe Miller -- endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- edged out veteran Sen. Murkowski in what was called "the most shocking" upset of the 2010 political season.

Democrat Scott McAdams, who had expected to be running a half-hearted race against the odds-on favorite Murkowski, suddenly found himself the center of nationwide political attention.