Results in the Kenai Peninsula’s four main state legislative races were unchanged after the Alaska Division of Elections added thousands of new ballots to the vote totals on Tuesday. The numbers are still not final, but the races so far still favor incumbent candidates.
The latest ballot count now includes early votes cast between Halloween and Election Day and some absentee ballots.
House District 7
In the race for the House District that covers Kenai and Soldotna, incumbent Republican candidate Justin Ruffridge maintained his nearly 20-percentage-point lead over challenger Ron Gillham. Of the more than 9,200 votes counted, Ruffridge has received almost 60%. State data also show the voter turnout in that race was upwards of 54%.
Speaking at his Election Night watch party in Soldotna, Ruffridge said the results indicate his campaign message about there being work to do in Juneau resonated with voters.
“You have to have a person to represent you that is capable of doing that work at a high level,” he said. “And I feel like that’s the message that I’ve sent and performed at that level. And it seems, thus far, voters agree.”
He says that work includes K-12 education and energy. If he returns to Juneau, he hopes to hit the ground running quicker than two years ago, when he was a freshman lawmaker.
| Justin Ruffridge (R) | 4,870 | 59.15% |
| Ron Gillham (R) | 3,289 | 39.95% |
| Write in | 74 | 0.90% |
| Total | 8,233 |
House District 8
Over in House District 8 – current Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Member Bill Elam widened his lead over challenger Brig. Gen. John Hillyer. That district covers the northern Kenai Peninsula excluding Kenai and Soldotna. Of the more than 8,680 ballots counted, Elam’s received a little over half the vote, about 51.6%.
If Elam has still received more than 50% of votes when all ballots are counted, he’ll be declared the winner of that race. He confirmed Wednesday that he would resign his seat on the assembly if elected.
When an assembly member resigns, the assembly appoints someone to replace them. In Elam’s case, the borough would issue a call for applications from eligible candidates and the assembly would pick one to appoint. Whoever is appointed would serve until the borough’s next regular election in 2025. The winner of that election would finish out Elam’s term, which ends in 2026.
Speaking on Election Night, Elam said he felt “at ease” heading into the election, but expected the results to be tight. He said he’s proud to have run a clean campaign.
“I think people really wanted to know that somebody knew them and that they were a part of the community,” he said.
| Bill Elam (R) | 4,475 | 51.56% |
| John Hillyer (R) | 4,083 | 47.04% |
| Write-in | 122 | 1.41% |
| Total | 8,680 |
Senate District D
Looking at the region’s state Senate race: no candidate has cleared the 50% threshold needed to clinch victory in the race for the northern Kenai Peninsula’s seat in the Alaska Senate. With 18,596 votes counted, incumbent Republican Jesse Bjorkman’s received just under that 50% target, about 47.9%. That’s compared to challenger Republican Rep. Ben Carpenter, who’s received about 40.8%.
Another 11.1% went to Democratic candidate Tina Wegener. Wegener did not participate in any candidate forums or fundraise after filing to run in May.
| Jesse Bjorkman (R) | 8,906 | 47.89% |
| Ben Carpenter (R) | 7,582 | 40.77% |
| Tina Wegener (D) | 2,064 | 11.1% |
| Write-in | 44 | 0.24% |
| Total | 18,596 |
House District 6
Things are still too close to call in the race for House District 6, although incumbent Homer Republican Sarah Vance leads by about five percentage points. Those numbers haven’t changed since election night, even after the Alaska Division of Elections update on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Alaska Division of Elections head Carol Beecher told KDLL via email that some outstanding absentee and questioned ballots weren’t included in the new Tuesday results. That’s because the division is still reviewing the district’s voter history to ensure no one voted twice. She said updated results for House District 6 would be posted later Wednesday evening.
| Sarah Vance (R) | 4,305 | 47.69% |
| Brent Johnson (N) | 3,868 | 42.85% |
| Dawson Slaughter (R) | 836 | 9.26% |
| Write-in | 18 | 0.20% |
| Total | 9,027 |
The latest results in all the races still don’t include every absentee ballot voted this election. That’s because the Alaska Division of Elections accepts absentee ballots up to 15 days after the election, as long as the ballot is postmarked on Election Day. So, the outcomes of some closer races won’t be available until Nov. 20. That’s when the division plans to run ranked choice tabulations on races where no candidate has received more than 50% of the vote.
