NBC Finally Acknowledges GOP Taking 53rd Senate Seat With Win in Alaska
Major broadcast network NBC broke its silence and joined fellow networks ABC and CBS on Wednesday night in covering the news that the Alaska Senate race has been called with Republican challenger Dan Sullivan being declared the winner over Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Begich.
NBC Nightly News aired a 23-second news brief on the election result, which gives the GOP at least 53 Senate seats in the next Congress, with a 54th seat possible if Republican Congressman and challenger Bill Cassidy defeats Democratic incumbent Senator Mary Landrieu in the runoff election on December 6 in Louisiana. [MP3 audio here; Video below]
NBC’s Brian Williams reported the following just after NBC Nightly News’s second commercial break:
In Alaska, eight days after the election, we can now report the Republican, Dan Sullivan, is the apparent winner of the U.S. Senate seat. The Associated Press has declared him the winner flat out. That would be a net gain for the GOP, another one. He defeats the Democratic incumbent Mark Begich. Sullivan is a Marine Corps reservist, former Assistant Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.
Following the network morning newscasts, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning had aired news briefs on the story after the Associated Press first declared Sullivan the winner overnight on Wednesday. Meanwhile, NBC’s Today completely ignored the story and instead spent one minute and 3 seconds covering the world’s largest corn maze.
The transcript of the news brief from NBC Nightly News on November 12 can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
November 12, 2014
7:21 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: NBC News Decision 2014]
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Let's hear that music. [NBC NEWS DECISION 2014 MUSIC BEGINS PLAYING] We have a Senate race to call. In Alaska, eight days after the election, we can now report the Republican, Dan Sullivan, is the apparent winner of the U.S. Senate seat. The Associated Press has declared him the winner flat out. That would be a net gain for the GOP, another one. He defeats the Democratic incumbent Mark Begich. Sullivan is a Marine Corps reservist, former Assistant Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.
— Curtis Houck is News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Curtis Houck on Twitter.
