With almost all Alaska primary election day ballots counted, only a few races remain in question

Candidate withdrawals may complicate the bottom of the ballot in some statewide general election races

Supporters of various candidates, including Democrat Mary Peltola, who is running for the U.S. Senate, her opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, and independent gubernatorial candidate Meda DeWitt are gathered on the afternoon of Aug. 18, 2026, at the busy intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway. The intersection is a favored spot for sign-waving on primary and general election days. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

The gap between the fifth and sixth-place finishers in Alaska’s 17-way governor race closed to fewer than 300 votes on Thursday as the Alaska Division of Elections published more results from Tuesday’s primary election.

As of noon Thursday, fifth-place finisher Treg Taylor had 9,775 votes and sixth-place finisher Click Bishop had 9,489. 

Ordinarily, a change in order between fifth and sixth place doesn’t matter, because only the top four candidates advance to November’s general election. 

But if one of the top four finishers withdraws from the race by Aug. 31, the fifth-place finisher will be promoted and advance to November. 

Ahead of the primary, some candidates for governor said they were considering their options, depending on this week’s results. 

Only one election day precinct remains uncounted — votes from Koliganek in southwest Alaska had not been reported by the end of Thursday — but thousands of absentee and early votes also remain unreported and could change the result.

Voting precincts for the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok in southwest Alaska also reported no results, but those communities were almost entirely destroyed by Typhoon Merbok in 2025 and did not host polling sites.

Counting is expected to wrap up by Aug. 28, the deadline for mailed absentee ballots to reach the Division of Elections.

Democratic frontrunners Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Tom Begich, who are on track to finish first and second in the primary, have since issued statements implying that they will remain in the race. Third-place Republican finisher Bernadette Wilson has said she will remain in the race if she is the top Republican. 

Fourth-place finisher Dave Bronson issued a statement Wednesday that said in part, “Once the final tabulation of early votes are reported next Tuesday and we have the full picture of where this race stands, our campaign will make the decision that best advances that goal and gives Republicans the strongest path to victory in November.”

In other races, the newly counted ballots confirmed existing trends. In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic challenger Mary Peltola has 48.1% of the vote, and incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has 42.7%. In the No. 3 spot is Republican challenger Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg, with 2.4%. The fourth spot is currently held by progressive Democrat David Leslie, with 1.1%.

If Leslie withdraws or if late-counted votes alter election-day trends, his spot would be taken by conservative Republican Gerald Heikes, who sat just 17 votes behind Leslie on Thursday. 

In the U.S. House race, Republican Rep. Nick Begich III has 46.1% of the vote, ahead of independent challenger Bill Hill, with 30.9%. 

Democratic challenger Matt Schultz was in third with 8% and federal inmate Eric Hafner, a Democratic candidate, was in fourth with 3.8%.

Schultz has already suspended his campaign and is expected to withdraw, which would elevate fifth-place finisher John Williams, a Fairbanks Democrat with 2.6% of the vote. Republican Clay Strickland was in sixth with 2.4%. 

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.