Republican Mike Dunleavy will be Alaska’s next governor. Unofficial results are in from Tuesday night’s election, and with 433 of 441 precincts reporting, the Alaska Division of Elections shows Mike Dunleavy with 52% of the vote.
Dunleavy campaigned on a platform that promised to restore full Permanent Fund dividends while also cutting government spending. As of press time, Democrat Mark Begich had 43% of the statewide vote, Libertarian Billy Toien 2%.
Republican Don Young will extend his tenure as the country’s longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The incumbent in Alaska’s sole, at-large House seat won 53% of votes cast. After an extensive grassroots campaign, independent Alyse Galvin lost her bid with 45% of votes cast.
Statewide voting totals from Tuesday do not necessarily reflect the choices of voters in Western Alaska. The Seward Peninsula overwhelmingly voted for Mark Begich in the governor’s race, with some communities like Elim and Golovin showing over 50% voter turnout compared to the statewide turnout of 41%. The only precinct in the region to vote for Dunleavy was Koyuk, where Dunleavy originally began his career as a teacher in the 1990s. Dunleavy did not campaign in the Seward Peninsula or Kotzebue.
Independent Alyse Galvin, the challenger candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, was also favored in the Seward Peninsula, taking 54% of the votes in Nome.
The results of Alaska’s state election do not become official until approval by the state legislature, but that won’t happen until all absentee and questioned ballots are received and reviewed.
Image at top: Congressman Don Young in KNOM Studios. Photo: Margaret DeMaioribus, KNOM.
