State election officials certified the results of the Aug. 18 Primary on Monday That locks results in heading into the Nov. 3 General Election.
Since the primary, a handful of candidates have dropped out, mostly in the crowded field for governor. Results show voters on the central and northern Kenai Peninsula were far from unified on any one ticket.
Governor
Seventeen gubernatorial candidates and their lieutenant governor running mates appeared on the primary ballot. They’re vying to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has reached his term limit.
Almost 30% of voters in Kenai and Soldotna backed Democratic tickets. Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins clinched 15.5% of votes in that district, while Tom Begich took home 14.2%. Bernadette Wilson, Adam Crum and Matt Heilala all each received about 12% of the vote.
Voters were similarly split in District 8, which covers the northern Kenai Peninsula including Sterling, Nikiski, Cooper Landing, Hope and Bear Creek. In that district, three-quarters of votes were split between six tickets. Just three percentage points separated Bernadette Wilson, the top vote-getter, and Adam Crum, the sixth-highest vote getter.
Since the primary election, Begich has dropped out of the race. And on Monday [8/31] Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom said she would not certify candidate Treg Taylor’s nomination for governor due to a campaign finance violation.
Federal races
On the whole, the central Peninsula prefers incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan to Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. Kenai and Soldotna went 57.1% to Sullivan, while another third of votes went to former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola.
The gulf was wider in House District 8. Over 62% of voters favored Sullivan, while a little under 30% went to Peltola. Peltola eked ahead on the southern peninsula – 52% of House District 6 voters went to her.
House Districts 7 and 8 also went for Republican incumbent Rep. Nick Begich III, who took more than 60% of votes in both districts. He held a smaller lead in District 7, where more than a third of votes went to nonpartisan candidate Bill Hill.
Ballot Measure 1
House Districts 6, 7 and 8 decisively voted to enact limits on campaign contributions. Alaska has allowed unlimited campaign contributions since 2021, when a judge struck down those limits as unconstitutionally low. The ballot measure passed with more than 60% of votes in favor in District 7 and 8, and with more than 70% of votes in favor in District 6.
The ballot measure limits individual campaign contributions to $2,000 to candidates and $5,000 to political parties. Those limits would be higher for groups, which could give $4,000 for candidates and $5,000 for other parties. Individuals could give $4,000 for candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, while groups could give up to $8,000.
The limits would be adjusted for inflation each decade, starting in 2031.
Alaska Legislature
Incumbent candidates hold sizable leads in their respective races for the Alaska House of Representative.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Justin Ruffridge received almost three-quarters of the more than 4,000 votes cast. Democratic challenger Kate Veh received 26%.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Bill Elam received 72.5% of the more than 5,000 votes cast. Nonpartisan challenger Nissa Savage received 17.2%, while Frank Quinn, also a nonpartisan candidate, received 10.3%.
The top four vote-getters in each race will advance to the state General Election on Nov. 3. Monday was the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the General Election.
Find full election results on the Alaska Division of Elections website.
