With the ranked choice voting tabulation completed on Nov. 23, Republicans have slim advantages in both the State House and Senate.

There will be 11 Republicans in the 20-member Senate, and 21 Republicans in the 40-member House.

Several close races were decided on Nov. 23, when the Division of Elections conducted the computerized ranked-choice tabulation.

Former State Senator Cathy Giessel beat the far more conservative incumbent Roger Holland. While both are Republicans, Giessel is, by far the more left leaning. She supports legal abortion and has catered to Democratic voters in the lead up to the general election.

In the other ranked-choice showdowns for the Senate, Jesse Bjorkman defeated Tuckerman Babcock, and incumbent David Wilson held off Stephen Wright. All of those candidates are Republicans.

On the House side, seven races were determined by ranked-choice runoffs.

In the closest race, Republican incumbent Rep. Tom McKay came from behind to beat Democratic challenger Denny Wells by just four votes – 3,472 to 3,468. Before the ranked-choice tabulation, McKay trailed Wells by 575 votes. He picked up the majority of fellow Republican David Eibeck’s second-choice votes (once he was eliminated), however, and that was enough to put him barely over the top.

In House District 11, Republican Julie Coulombe also came from behind to beat the “nonpartisan” Walter Featherly, once the ranked-choice votes were redistributed.

In House District 18, incumbent Republican David Nelson lost to Democrat Cliff Groh.

In House District 28, Jesse Sumner defeated fellow Republican Steve Menard. Likewise, in District 30, incumbent Republican Kevin McCabe defeated fellow Republican Doyle Holmes.

Democrat Maxine Dibert defeated Republican incumbent Bart LeBon in District 31, while Republican Frank Tomaszewski bested incumbent Democrat Grier Hopkins in District 34.

The results are still unofficial until they are certified on Nov. 29. Candidates then have a five-day window in which they can request a recount.

Based on the unofficial results, this is what the Alaska Senate and House will look like during the next legislative session, which begins on January 17, 2023.

SENATE REPUBLICANS (11)

— Bert Stedman

— Gary Stevens

— Jesse Bjorkman

— Cathy Giessel

— James Kaufman

— Kelly Merrick

— Shelley Hughes

— David Wilson

— Mike Shower

— Robert Myers

— Click Bishop

SENATE DEMOCRATS (9)

— Jesse Kiehl

— Elvi Gray-Jackson

— Matt Claman

— Loki Tobin

— Forrest Dunbar

— Bill Wielechowski

— Scott Kawasaki

— Lyman Hoffman

— Donny Olson

HOUSE REPUBLICANS (21)

— Louise Stutes

— Sarah Vance

— Justin Ruffridge

— Ben Carpenter

— Laddie Shaw

— Craig Johnson

— Julie Coulombe

— Thomas McKay

— Stanley Wright

— Jamie Allard

— Dan Saddler

— DeLena Johnson

— Cathy Tilton

— David Eastman

— Jesse Sumner

— George Rauscher

— Kevin McCabe

— Will Stapp

— Mike Prax

— Frank Tomaszewski

— Mike Cronk

HOUSE DEMOCRATS (15)

— Dan Ortiz

— Andi Story

— Sara Hannan

— Andy Josephson

— Alyse Galvin

— Jennie Armstrong

— Zack Fields

— Cliff Groh

— Geneveive Mina

— Andrew Gray

— Donna Mears

— Maxine Dibert

— Ashley Carrick

— Conrad McCormick

— Neal Foster

HOUSE NON-AFFILIATED (3)

— Rebecca Himschoot

— Calvin Schrage

— Josiah Patkotak

HOUSE UNDECLARED (1)

— Bryce Edgmon

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