With all precincts reporting, state Sen. Gary Stevens, the Republican incumbent, has a strong lead in his race for Senate District C, which covers most of the southern Kenai Peninsula, plus Kodiak, Seward and Cordova. Stevens, of Kodiak, held 54% of the vote as of Wednesday afternoon, over 20 points ahead of his closest challenger, Republican Heath Smith from Homer. Walter Jones, a Republican from Anchor Point, was third, with just over 11% of the vote.
In the state House race for District 6, which includes most of the Southern Kenai Peninsula, Republican incumbent Sarah Vance, of Homer, lead the race with over 54% of the vote, followed by non-partisan candidates Louie Flora of Homer at around 37% and Anchor Point resident Ginger Bryant, who pulled in just over 8% of the vote.
In this pick-one primary, the top four vote-getters in each race advance to the ranked-choice general election on Nov. 8. All candidates in both the state Senate and House races will move on to the general. Voters will also rank candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor on the November ballot.
The state has set a target date of Sept. 2 to certify the official results.
House District 6 had a registered voter turnout of 32%. Turnout statewide was just over 26%, the highest in a primary election since 2014.
