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Peltola leads Sullivan by 8% in final unofficial primary tally; focus now on dropouts in governor’s race
- Mark Sabbatini
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
Candidates and parties face web of strategic decisions as JKT tops Tom Begich among Democrats, Wilson ahead of Bronson among Republicans
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Now that the votes have been counted, the key question during the next three days is if any of the top-four finishers in the governor’s race are willing to drop out as a strategic maneuver to help their party.
Final unofficial results from the Aug. 18 primary were released Friday evening by the Alaska Division of Elections. Results are scheduled to be certified by Monday, which is also the deadline for candidates to withdraw from races.
Both congressional races have firmly set head-to-head matchups.
Democratic challenger Mary Peltola topped incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan 49.54% to 41.41% in the primary, with Republican retired Petersburg teacher Dan J. Sullivan at 2.47% and Democrat David Leslie at 1.11%. National observers are calling the race a toss-up that may determine which party controls the majority in the Senate.
Peltola, a former U.S. House member, was also leading her race to return to that seat in 2024 with 50.89% in the primary election, but lost the general election in November.
In the U.S. House, incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III topped the race with a 44.63% finish in the primary, ahead of independent Bill Hill at 32.53% and Democrat Matt Schultz at 8.07% — although the latter has withdrawn and is endorsing Hill. Eric Hafner, a New York prison inmate running as a Democrat, is third at 3.79% and Democrat John B. Williams fourth at 2.71%.
Topping the 17-candidate field for governor is Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins with 22.52% of the vote, followed by Tom Begich at 20.8%. Both are Democratic former state lawmakers, and the candidates and party leaders have acknowledged discussions about a deal where one drops out and supports the other (or becomes the lieutenant governor candidate) have occurred.
Similar speculation is occurring for two Republicans who finished third and fourth in the primary — businesswoman Bernadette Wilson with 10.02% and former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson with 8.13% — but without much support from the candidates. Bronson said this week he does not intend to drop out of the race if he finishes behind Wilson.
Republican party officials and supporters are urging most or all of the 12 GOP candidates who ran to unify behind a single person since the combined votes of those candidates well exceed the roughly 43.3% combined tally for the top two Democratic candidates.
Begich, following a candidate forum for the four top contenders Wednesday in Anchorage, told the Anchorage Daily News there are plenty of possibilities before Monday’s dropout deadline.
“There’s some similarities between Dave and Bernadette. There’s some similarities between myself and Jonathan,” Begich told the newspaper. “Will it lead the two Democrats to consolidate? It might. But by the same token, having four voices there talking about these issues may be an even better decision. I don’t know what the answer to that question is yet.”
The uncertainties extend beyond the final four, since the Alaska Public Offices Commission on Thursday recommended former Attorney General Treg Taylor, who finished fifth, not be certified as a candidate because he failed to complete a required financial disclosure form. If one or more of the top four candidates drops out and he is not certified for the general election, the sixth-ranked candidate is former state Sen. Click Bishop. He is a moderate Republican who could draw away some voters who otherwise would support a Democrat over a conservative Republican.
The results released Friday are for 166,853 ballots cast, representing 27.72% of registered voters.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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