FAIRBANKS — Republican Party leaders, quick to back Joe Miller following his surprising primary win, said they’ve not heard any supporters of defeated Sen. Lisa Murkowski push for a third-party or write-in general election campaign.

They said they expect any shock about Murkowski’s loss to disappear in the coming days, after which party members will line up behind Miller. Ralph Seekins, the party’s national committee representative, said no talk of a Murkowski general election bid was heard at a party leadership meeting Saturday. Seekins also said he’s heard nothing from Outside groups, firms or donors suggesting they’d try to convince Murkowski to keep going.

“It’s natural for a candidate’s supporters to (feel a) sense of defeat” after a loss, he said. “But I do believe that the party is 100 percent behind Joe Miller now. The real race left is the next one.”

Murkowski’s campaign declined to talk Wednesday about any immediate feedback coming from supporters, but those close to the senator suggested she was far from a career decision after the surprise loss. She told supporters Tuesday night that she’d return to Alaska after completing her term, which will include committee work on her Sealaska lands bill and energy policy.

“I’m looking forward to coming back home with my family and looking forward to building this great future, a great future that will not only be with my family but helping to fulfill Alaska’s promise, because there’s still so much work that remains to be done,” she said.

Murkowski has a relatively healthy campaign budget. The campaign reported holding almost $1.9 million cash last month. Part of it, however, will cover advertising bills still outstanding from the primary race.

Alaska has a history of noteworthy write-in campaigns in Alaska.

Ernest Gruening collected 17 percent of the vote in 1968’s Senate race after losing the primary to Mike Gravel, and Wally Hickel’s 1978 write-in campaign for governor carried him to a second-place finish in a five-way race won by Jay Hammond. Twenty years later, write-in candidate and state Sen. Robin Taylor took 18 percent in the general election, losing to Democrat Tony Knowles but besting three other challengers.

Randy Ruedrich, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he’d heard no whispers that any Murkowski supporters would push her to follow a similar path.

“The counting is over, the primary is over, and we’re looking to do what the party always aims to do, and that’s defeat Democrats in November,” Ruedrich said by phone Wednesday from Texas. He said late disputes between the candidates will prove non-issues in the general race, and a claim that a candidate’s supporter may have tried to hack computers in state election offices proved unfounded.

“There’s people that have to (realize) that their candidate lost,” Ruedrich said. “The party’s mission is to get Republicans elected.”

Miller, an attorney and former magistrate who has not held elected office, drew support from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express.

Even some supporters were taken by surprise by his win. State Sen. John Coghill, who appeared at Miller’s April campaign announcement, said while he expected a tight race, he was caught off guard by the final result.

Not all were surprised. Rocky McDonald, who runs a well-drilling operation in Fairbanks and held fundraisers for Miller, said Miller’s message and family oriented style successfully inspired voters from around the state. McDonald, also a finance co-chairman on Miller’s campaign, said some supporters’ doubts about Miller’s chances made fundraising difficult. He said he’d now reach out to Murkowski supporters for help.

“I would certainly hope there would be unity,” McDonald said.

Coghill said he expects primary voters’ message will eventually connect with the broader conservative voting base.

“I hope people will step up and help him” overcome a steep learning curve, Coghill said of Miller, in his second political race.

Seekins agreed.

“Joe must now, and he will, tell people why he should be their choice,” he said. “He’s gotten a lot of national face time. So we need to get him the (statewide) face time.”

Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.