Democrat Kreiss-Tomkins crosses 50% threshold in Alaska governor race, while Peltola extends Senate lead
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has just over half of the counted votes in the Alaska governor’s race, and Democrat Mary Peltola has widened her margin over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in the Senate contest.
The Alaska Division of Elections reported Thursday that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has surpassed the 50% mark in the four-candidate governor’s race, recording just over half of the votes counted so far. His closest rival, Republican business owner Bernadette Wilson, holds 28.7% of the tally.
The update added 5,723 early, absentee and questioned ballots, mainly from the Southeast region, bringing the counted total to an estimated 88% of the expected vote. The Associated Press estimates that about 12% of ballots remain uncounted, with overseas ballots due by Nov. 18, the deadline for the final count.
If Kreiss-Tomkins retains a majority after the remaining ballots are processed, he would win the race without the need to tabulate ranked-choice votes. This outcome would challenge the argument, cited after Democrat Tom Begich withdrew in August, that Kreiss-Tomkins could win only because the three other candidates are Republicans splitting the conservative vote.
In the U.S. Senate contest, Democrat Mary Peltola increased her lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, now standing at 49% to Sullivan’s 46.8%. Her margin of roughly 5,800 votes exceeds the total votes received by Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., another candidate in the race.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in October seeking to block any election result that might be affected by voter confusion, arguing that a threshold would be met if Sullivan lost to Peltola by fewer votes than those cast for the other Sullivan. A district court dismissed the case, and the administration is pursuing an appeal.