Kreiss-Tomkins leads with 55.3% of counted first-choice votes

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins held a lead in Alaska's gubernatorial election as of 8:40 p.m. Tuesday evening. With 45 of 400 precincts reporting, the former Sitka lawmaker had secured 55.3% of the first-choice votes tallied. His nearest competitor, Republican Bernadette Wilson, trailed at 27.5% of the counted votes. Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former Attorney General Treg Taylor followed with 10.8% and 6.2% respectively.

The early results suggest a shift in state leadership after eight years under Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy is term-limited and did not seek reelection. If Kreiss-Tomkins retains his current lead as the remaining thousands of ballots are processed, he will become Alaska's first Democratic governor since 2002.

Kreiss-Tomkins entered the race in February, launching his campaign late in the cycle. The field expanded to 17 candidates for the August primary, comprising 12 Republicans, two Democrats, and three independents. He emerged as the top vote-getter in that primary. Since then, his campaign has emphasized bipartisan appeal while the three Republican candidates struggled to consolidate support on the right.

The Democratic candidate also held a financial advantage, raising more money than his three opponents combined. His campaign strategy included traveling to rural villages across the state, areas rarely visited by statewide office holders. In contrast, the Republican candidates focused their efforts on GOP strongholds in the Matanuska-Susitna region, the Kenai Peninsula, and Fairbanks.

The Republican field faced internal challenges. Wilson, a 42-year-old garbage collection company owner and former talk radio host, has been sued repeatedly over unpaid business and personal debts. She ran on a platform of large cash payouts to Alaskans but did not provide a clear explanation for funding them. She received an endorsement from President Donald Trump last month, although the Alaska Republican Party declined to back any candidate.

Bronson, who served one term as Anchorage mayor, was voted out of office following a period of acrimony and dysfunction. Taylor, the state's former top attorney, was briefly removed from the ballot for failing to disclose financial interests as required by law. Both candidates pitched themselves as moderate alternatives to Wilson. They refused to suspend their campaigns after Trump and Wilson urged them to do so, instead asking supporters to rank all Republicans on the ballot.

Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, represented Southeast Alaska in the Legislature for a decade before entering this race. He described himself as a pragmatic leader who would appoint Republicans to his cabinet. He also stated he would favor imposing new taxes on oil and gas companies to help close the state's structural deficit. In the days before the election, he won support from prominent Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her father, former Gov. Frank Murkowski.

Election officials will continue counting ballots through the night on Tuesday. The process is expected to continue until Nov. 18. If the top vote-getter does not receive more than 50% of first-choice votes, the winner will be determined by ranked choice tabulation. In that scenario, Wilson could defeat Kreiss-Tomkins if enough voters from the Taylor and Bronson camps ranked her as their second choice. Officials target Nov. 25 to certify the final results.