Republican Nick Begich III retains a lead over Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola following the latest election results from Alaska’s Division of Elections. Begich has approximately 49% of first-place votes compared to Peltola’s nearly 46%, a margin of about 10,000 votes. If neither candidate surpasses the 50% mark when all valid ballots are counted, a ranked-choice tabulation will determine the winner on November 20.
News also emerges that a ballot measure aimed at repealing Alaska’s open primary and ranked-choice voting system is likely to pass. Currently, the ‘yes’ votes lead by over 2,800 votes, reflecting a close margin of 1 percentage point, although many ballots still await counting.
The Alaska Division of Elections is poised to release additional updates with significant new results coming in, particularly from absentee and early voting. The most recent tally reported about 38,000 new ballots, impacting several state legislative races as well, where some leading candidates have strengthened their positions.
Fairbanks Senator Scott Kawasaki has increased his lead over Republican Leslie Hajdukovich, while Democratic challenger Ted Eischeid extends his lead in the North Muldoon district. The House and Senate are expected to see a notable shift, with prospective leaders aligning to form a bipartisan coalition. Final results will be confirmed by November 30 after last ballots arrive and all post-election checks are completed.
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Photo credit alaskapublic.org
