The standings in the races for governor and U.S. Congress were largely unchanged after Alaska elections officials released an updated count of ballots Wednesday morning.
The top four vote-getters in the primary will advance to the ranked choice general election in November. For now, the top four in the race for governor are:
- Democratic former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins with 22%
- Democratic former state Sen. Tom Begich with 20.0%
- Republican business owner and activist Bernadette Wilson with 10.2%
- Republican former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson with 8.2%
Additional candidates outside the top four include:
5. Republican former Attorney General Treg Taylor with 7.4%
6. Republican former state Sen. Click Bishop with 7%
The fifth-place candidate would advance if one candidate in the top four officially exits the race before the withdrawal deadline on Aug. 31. The sixth-place candidate would advance if two dropped out, according to an Alaska Supreme Court decision in the wake of the 2024 primary. Though Alaska’s ranked choice voting system should in theory alleviate the effect of a “spoiler” candidate on the ballot, some candidates have quietly discussed dropping out in an effort to consolidate support behind them.
Ahead of Wednesday’s results update, Begich and Bronson each said they’d wait until all votes were counted before deciding whether to continue their races or drop out.
In the race for U.S. Senate, Democratic former Congresswoman Mary Peltola continued to lead Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan 48.9% to 42.1%. Peltola’s margin grew by roughly 2,500 votes in Wednesday’s update.
Dan J. Sullivan, the retired Petersburg teacher challenging the incumbent senator, remained in third with 2.5%.
David Leslie, a Democratic Socialist from Fairbanks, currently holds a slim 43-vote lead over Republican Gerald Heikes for fourth place. Out-of-state groups sought to boost Leslie and Heikes in hopes of propelling them onto the November ballot and drawing support away from Peltola and Sullivan.
In Alaska’s U.S. House race, Republican Rep. Nick Begich III leads independent challenger Bill Hill 45.2% to 32.1%. Democrat Matt Schultz, in third place, has withdrawn from the race, meaning the next two challengers will advance to the general election. For now, those are federal inmate Eric Hafner in third and John Williams in fourth. Both are running as Democrats and have raised no money.
Wednesday morning’s update, released just before 10 a.m., incorporates roughly 8,700 newly counted ballots, including early votes cast in the four days prior to the primary and absentee ballots, according to the Division of Elections.
Counting will continue until Aug. 28, the final day for absentee ballots to arrive at election offices. Elections officials aim to certify the results Aug. 31.
