By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

Republican Rep. Don Young — whose three and a half decade hold on Alaska’s sole House seat was imperiled by political ethics controversies — holds a razor-thin lead over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who ran a strong primary challenge against the embattled congressman.

With 98 percent of the state’s precincts reporting in the House contest, Young led Parnell by a margin of just 145 votes, reversing the similarly small lead that Parnell had held throughout much of the vote counting. That tiny gap, if it holds up in the final results, could permit the trailing candidate to call for a recount. Republican state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux received the remaining 9 percent of the vote.

The winner will face a competitive general election contest with Ethan Berkowitz, a former state House Democratic leader and his party’s 2006 nominee for lieutenant governor, who scored a solid victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

Berkowitz told CQ Politics Wednesday morning that the Republican results are evidence that “there’s disarray” within the GOP.

“Half of them want change,” Berkowitz said, “and I am the change that half of them want to have, at least.”

Young faced a much stiffer threat in his primary contest than did his longtime Alaska congressional colleague, Republican Sen. Ted Stevens , who easily fended off challengers in his Tuesday contest even though he faces more immediate legal problems than Young.

But Stevens — who was indicted in July and is scheduled to face trial late next month on charges of failing to meet legal requirements to report gifts he allegedly received from a company in the thick of a sweeping political corruption scandal in Alaska — now faces a tougher and potentially career-ending challenge from the easy winner of the Democratic Senate primary, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

Young has been closely connected to figures in the scandal concerning the Alaska-based Veco oil services company’s efforts to purchase influence with lawmakers, the investigation of which led to charges against Stevens. Young has not been charged with any wrongdoing in this situation.

Young is well-known for bringing federal dollars home to Alaska, but his push for “earmarks” has also drawn him his share of criticism. Among the controversies that have drawn scrutiny was his insertion of a funding allocation in a spending bill for a road project in Florida that appeared to benefit a businessman who also contributed to Young’s campaign treasury.

Both Stevens and Young have built their political strength at home on their efforts to steer billions of dollars in federal funding to their home state. But Stevens, in his current times of troubles, has been able to tap a large pool of affection that many Alaskans hold toward him. This is less true of Young, a former riverboat captain with a rough-hewn manner that has long drawn criticism from Alaska Democrats, and from increasing numbers of Republicans.

Young conceded in a recent radio debate he has been a bully and arrogant at times, but said it was evidence he is willing to fight for his home state. Young said he was the only candidate with the experience and seniority who could effectively advocate for Alaska in Washington.

Parnell campaigned as a candidate of change who hoped to help fix “broken” Washington. He positioned himself as a fiscal conservative and argued Congress should end excessive spending earmarks.

Parnell was backed by Sarah Palin , the state’s Republican governor, with whom he won the election on the party’s 2006 ticket. The two ran in 2006 on a platform to weed out corruption, though Palin in recent weeks has faced ethics questions of her own surrounding her administration’s firing of her former brother-in-law.