Peltola, JKT Lead Early Alaska Returns

The Alaska Division of Elections released its first unofficial results for the November 3 general election shortly after 8:30 p.m. At the time of the update, only 45 of 401 precincts had reported. This represents 11.22 percent of precincts and 65,588 ballots cast out of 605,433 registered voters, or roughly 10.83 percent of the electorate. Officials noted that these figures are first-choice totals only.

The election process in Alaska involves two distinct stages for determining winners in competitive races. First, the division counts the initial preference of each voter. Second, if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the division conducts ranked-choice redistribution. This second phase is scheduled for November 18, after the division reviews and counts all remaining mail, absentee, and questioned ballots. The division has emphasized that current numbers are incomplete and subject to change as more precincts report.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mary Peltola currently holds the lead with 35,324 first-choice votes, or 54.13 percent. Incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan has 27,940 votes, or 42.81 percent. Republican Gerald L. Heikes has 843 votes, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has 1,005 votes, and write-ins account for 151 votes. The total first-choice count for this race is 65,263.

The U.S. House race is closely contested. Nonpartisan candidate Bill Hill leads with 30,786 votes, or 47.32 percent. Incumbent Republican Nick Begich has 28,677 votes, or 44.08 percent. Democrat Eric Hafner has 4,278 votes, and Libertarian Jim McDermott has 1,227 votes. Write-ins total 86. The first-choice total for this race is 65,054.

For governor, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, known as JKT, leads the field. His ticket with nonpartisan running mate Zac Johnson has 35,837 first-choice votes, or 55.29 percent. The top Republican ticket, Bernadette Wilson and Mike Shower, has 17,840 votes, or 27.52 percent. Other Republican tickets include Dave Bronson and Josh Church with 6,968 votes, and Treg Taylor and Candi English with 4,019 votes. Write-ins total 154.

Two ballot measures are also tracking in the early returns. Ballot Measure 2, which proposes repealing the top-four open primary and ranked-choice voting, is currently trailing with 27,083 yes votes against 35,526 no votes. Ballot Measure 3, which clarifies that only U.S. citizens may vote without changing existing eligibility rules, is leading with 40,608 yes votes against 22,003 no votes. The division will continue updating first-choice totals as processing continues, with final certification to follow after the ranked-choice tabulation on November 18.