Republicans ask supporters to donate to Joe Miller's legal fund

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) has e-mailed supporters and asked them to donate to Joe Miller's legal fund.

Miller, the Republican nominee for Alaska's Senate race, is awaiting the final results of the contest. Miller beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) in the GOP primary, and she waged a write-in bid.

Cornyn writes of Miller: "He faces the potential of a lengthy recount. And in Alaska, they are still counting votes from election day. 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."

Exit polls showed the "write-in" candidate winning, but it's unknown how many of those votes were for Murkoswki or for one of the other write-in candidates.

As of Thursday, initial returns showed write-in ballots held a 13,439-vote edge over Miller, according to the Anchorage Daily News, but, again, it's not clear how many of those are for Murkowski — or how many have been cast properly.

There are expected to be legal challenges, particularly regarding voter intent, if a write-in ballot appears to be improperly cast.