With low turnout in a mostly meaningless nonpartisan “jungle primary,” it’s difficult to gauge exactly which candidates Alaska voters will actually support come November. The Nov. 5 general election will draw far larger turnout from both sides, but with Trump on the ballot, as well as a chance to repeal ranked-choice voting, conservatives are likely to come out in force when it matters.
According to the unofficial results from the Aug. 20 primary, only 16% of voters turned out. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola garnered 50.4% of the vote, while Republican challengers Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom, split the GOP vote with Begich ahead 27% to 20%. Matthew Salisbury, also a Republican, earned 0.6% of the vote, just enough to take fourth place and advance to the general election with the top candidates. The remaining eight candidates for U.S. House were eliminated.
In the 50 contests for Alaska State House and Senate seats, only three out of 115 candidates were eliminated due to the current primary system, which allows the top four candidates in each primary contest to automatically advance to the general ranked-choice election. The remaining 48 races have four or fewer candidates, which means none of them were eliminated in the primary, regardless of how few votes they earn.
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House District 36, which covers Alaska’s interior region, had six candidates running. Republican Dana Mock and Libertarian James Fields did not make the cut. Likewise, in Senate District L, which covers Eagle River, former state legislator Sharon Jackson was eliminated after earning just 7.5% of the vote.
With such a low turnout, however, little can be gleaned from the primary and what it might indicate for the upcoming general contest. In 2020, nearly 61% of voters turned out for the genera election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Trump won the state that year with 53% of the vote, compared to 43% for Biden.
In addition to election day results, a few remaining absentee primary ballots will be tallied until Aug. 30. The State Review Board is scheduled to certify the final results of the primary by Sept. 1.
For the vast majority of candidates, the real race to victory begins now, until Nov. 5.
Click here to view the unofficial results from the Aug. 20 primary.
8 Comments
To all Republican voters: RANK ONLY THE RED. If you don’t, we lose.
Rank equals stink! Stink makes porcarro rich!
“Nov. 5 general election will draw far larger turnout from both sides” I am praying that your statement comes true! The turnout was so dismal for the 2024 Primaries. It is frightening to think how little the AK GOP is doing to increase participation in Alaskan Elections. People, do not donate to the AK GOP – donate to candidates directly!
Patricia, I agree with you. But sadly, this state is dominated by communists, useful idiots and stupid uneducated rednecks who pretend to be conservatives. We loose.
With citizens like you, who needs enemies?
You throw everyone else under the bus because you failed to take control of your own life. You have given up so much power to the system that you have no agency over your own well being.
Calling everyone else names because you don’t get your way is very childish. You wonder why nobody wants to play with you in your stupid game? You are a bore and no fun to be around.
Not until you learn to play nice with your fellow countrymen will life get any better. You and your people should learn to work together as a community and stop playing the elitist game of voting against each other.
You can always keep doing what you always have and see how far that gets you, or you can wake up and reengage with your fellow humanity and make America great again.
Dumpleavys fault!
Nick Begich is an outstanding conservative candidate, committed to making Alaska and our country strong. I haven’t seen such a good representative for our state since Wally Hickel. Please get informed, share information on Nick Begich with your associates and support his campaign!!!
Dear Always someone else to blame, thank you so much for proving my point. Please don’t forget to Rank The Red!