Stand By Your Man? Huckabee And DeMint Still Backing Joe Miller, Palin Silent

Mike Huckabee, Joe Miller, and Jim DeMint
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As the Alaska Division of Elections gets ready to count the write-in ballots next week for the Senate race, Republican nominee and tea party favorite Joe Miller has remained confident in his ability to win the race against Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Murkowski launched a write-in bid after Miller’s surprise victory in the Republican primary, and in the end, 41% of the votes went to write-in candidates while 34.3% went to the Miller. Under Alaska election rules, all of the ballots will be counted to determine how many were for write-in candidate Murkowski.

The seat will remain in Republican hands regardless — Democrat Scott McAdams has already conceded — but many GOPers are still in an awkward spot, having to wait out a protracted vote count between an establishment senator and the tea party upstart they backed against her.

So where do Miller’s staunchest Republican supporters stand now?

John Cornyn, NRSC chair, sent out a fundraising email today telling supporters: “We need to get Joe the resources he needs to win the vote count. Because we need Joe to join our fight against Barack Obama. Help ensure that this vote count is conducted fairly.”

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and his PAC Senate Conservatives Fund is also planning to lend its support to Miller. According to The Hill: “The political action committee is currently exploring exactly how it can assist Miller, the Republican nominee, on the fundraising front in what is expected to be a costly and drawn-out ballot-counting process.”

Huckabee’s PAC, meanwhile, sent out a letter to supporters asking for contributions to the Miller cause: “Joe, as the true conservative outsider in this race, is relying on grassroots support to fund his campaign in these final stages. So please consider digging deep and making a donation today. Adding his strong, outspoken conservative voice from Alaska to the US Senate is just what we need to begin turning this country around.”

But Sarah Palin, who was one of Miller’s biggest proponents in the campaign, has been silent since the returns came in. As recently as October 31, Palin tweeted her solidarity with Miller over accusations that members of a local Alaska news station conspired against him.

But since then, nothing.

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