Alaska election results remain uncertain as key races stay tight
Analysts note that the U.S. Senate race and the governor's contest are still too close to call, while most other contests show clear leads.
Alaska’s election night left several high-profile contests undecided, with final outcomes pending the ranked-choice tabulation scheduled for Nov. 18.
In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mary Peltola held a narrow lead of a few hundred votes over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, but a large number of absentee, early and rural ballots are still uncounted, keeping the race too close to call. Analysts warned that the state could face a certification challenge if the vote totals shift after the remaining ballots are processed.
For the governor’s race, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads with about 49% of first-choice votes. If he surpasses the 50% threshold, the race would be decided without further ranking. Campaign strategist Jim Lottsfeldt expects Kreiss-Tomkins to win outright, while Republican candidate Bernadette Wilson, who trails with roughly 29%, urged supporters to remain steadfast.
Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III appears on track for re-election, holding about 49.5% of the vote against independent Bill Hill, who has the endorsement of the Alaska Democratic Party.
Election officials have counted roughly 216,000 ballots, leaving an estimated 50,000-75,000 still to be processed. Pollster Ivan Moore said the outstanding votes tend to favor Democrats, whereas the Sullivan campaign projected a win for the Republican Senate candidate based on recent early-vote trends.
Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal ranked-choice voting, is trailing with about 52% opposition, while Ballot Measure 3, limiting voting to U.S. citizens, is on track to pass with roughly 70% support.
The results suggest that national Democratic gains have had a limited effect in Alaska, where the state’s congressional delegation is likely to remain in the minority.