Voters across the Seward Peninsula, Norton Sound and Lower Yukon cast their ballots Tuesday in Alaska’s statewide primary election, which will help narrow the field ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
Alaska’s primary election determines which candidates advance to the general election under the state’s open primary system, adopted by voters in 2020. All candidates for a given office appear on the same primary ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top four vote-getters advance to the November election. The general election is then decided using ranked choice voting, in which voters may rank candidates in order of preference.
This year’s primary comes as Alaskans prepare to decide several high-profile races, including prized seats in the U.S. House and Senate. The governor position is open for the first time since 2018, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy cannot seek reelection after serving two consecutive terms. Tuesday’s results begin to shape the November ballot but do not determine the eventual winner of any race.
For House District 39, which covers the Seward Peninsula, Norton Sound, St. Lawrence Island, Diomede and Lower Yukon, unofficial results for U.S. Senate show Democrat Mary Peltola leading incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan with 67% of the vote. Statewide results tell a slightly different story, with Peltola taking 48% of the primary vote compared to Sullivan's 43% share.
In House District 39, incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III led Independent challenger Bill Hill. Begich's haul of votes represented 41% of the total votes cast on Tuesday to Hill's 22%. Matt Schultz received 9% of the vote, but the Anchorage pastor withdrew and endorsed(opens in new tab) Hill in mid-July. Statewide, Begich received over twice the number of votes Hill hauled in.
In the race to replace Gov. Dunleavy, Democrat Tom Begich narrowly edged out fellow Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins by four votes in House District 39, with each taking in about 21% of the total ballots. Nonpartisan candidate Bill Walked earned the third most votes, followed by Republican Click Bishop and his running mate, Greta Schuerch who has familial ties to Nome. Statewide, Kreiss-Tompkins and Begich also led the field, but Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson rounded out the top four.
House District 39, which covers a majority of the Seward Peninsula, Norton Sound, and Lower Yukon regions, had just three names on the ballot. The incumbent, Neal Foster, led the field with 50% of the vote. Returning challenger, Tyler Ivanoff of Elim and Shishmaref, earned 30% of the ballots cast. Newcomer Reynold D. Okitkun of Kotlik earned 20% of the Tuesday votes. Okitkun announced(opens in new tab) on Facebook Wednesday morning his intention to endorse Ivanoff.
A yes or no vote on Ballot Measure 1, which would reimpose limits on how much money that people can donate to political candidates, was also on the ballot. In House District 39, about 56% of voters voted yes on the measure. Statewide, over 70% voted yes.
Voter turnout
Voter turnout in primary elections has historically been lower than in general elections, though participation has fluctuated in recent years. The 2022 primary — the first held under Alaska’s open primary and ranked choice voting system — drew higher statewide interest than many previous midterm primaries.
As of the primary election day, House District 39 had 10,551 registered voters. Early returns show about 20% of registered voters in the district voted in the primary. The community with the highest turnout rate was Shaktoolik, with 34% of registered voters turning in a ballot. Hooper Bay had just 11% of voters participate in the primary.
In Nome, just 22.6% of registered voters cast ballots in the 2022 primary. For the 2024 general election, highlighted by a contentious presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, just over 32% of registered voters in Nome participated.
The Nome-based Region IV Elections Office oversees voting across districts 37 through 40, which spans the west side of Alaska from the Aleutians to the North Slope. The office will continue tabulating absentee, early and questioned ballots from its massive region over the coming days. Official results will be added to the statewide totals and help determine the official slate of candidates advancing to the Nov. 3 general election.
