Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won Alaska’s governor’s race, becoming the first Democrat elected to the office since 1998 and putting the party on course to regain the governorship after 24 years.
The Associated Press called the race for the 37-year-old former state representative from Sitka. He will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and be sworn in December 7 as Alaska’s 13th governor.
First-choice majority puts Democrat ahead
Kreiss-Tomkins held 50.8% of first-choice votes counted as of Friday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Republican Bernadette Wilson had 28.1%, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson had 13.6%, and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor had 7.2%.
Those figures are preliminary, not certified final results. Several thousand ballots remained to be counted, the newspaper reported.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting in its general election, but Kreiss-Tomkins’ first-choice majority meant the race did not require a ranked-choice redistribution to determine a winner, NBC News reported.
Coalition campaign defeats three Republicans
Kreiss-Tomkins campaigned as a moderate seeking cooperation across party lines. Wilson, the leading Republican in the general election, had President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
After the August open primary, fellow Democrat Tom Begich withdrew and backed Kreiss-Tomkins. Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski also endorsed him in the campaign’s closing days, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
“Alaskans voted for change and for a government that works across party lines to move Alaska forward,” Kreiss-Tomkins said in his victory statement, AP reported.
He raised more than $5 million, exceeding his opponents’ combined campaign fundraising, the Anchorage Daily News reported. His campaign said he visited 62 communities and traveled 40,000 miles.
December inauguration marks historic transition
At 37, Kreiss-Tomkins will become Alaska’s youngest governor, NPR reported. Independent Zac Johnson, an Anchorage Assembly member, will become lieutenant governor, succeeding Nancy Dahlstrom.
The last Democrat to win Alaska’s governorship was Tony Knowles in 1998. Knowles completed his second term in 2002, making that the last year a Democrat held the office.
Kreiss-Tomkins said a Democrat, a Republican and an independent would co-chair his transition. One of his earliest tasks will be preparing a proposed state budget shortly after taking office.
