Voters in Nome 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.
In Nome, unofficial results for U.S. Senate show Democrat Mary Peltola leading incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan with 65% of the vote. For the latest statewide results, visit Alaska Public Media’s elections results page.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III led Independent challenger Bill Hill by 38 votes. Begich's haul of votes represented 36% of the total votes cast on Tuesday to Hill's 29%. Matt Schultz received 11% of the vote, but the Anchorage pastor withdrew and endorsed(opens in new tab) Hill in mid-July.
In the race to replace Gov. Dunleavy, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins led the local polls with 134 votes, or about 24% of the total ballots. Republican Click Bishop and his running mate, Greta Schuerch who has familial ties to Nome, earned 98 votes. Democratic candidate Tom Begich earned 95 votes.
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 69% of the vote. Returning challenger, Tyler Ivanoff of Elim and Shishmaref, earned 145 votes, or about 27% of the ballots cast. Newcomer Reynold D. Okitkun of Kotlik earned 24 of the Tuesday votes. All three candidates in the race will advance to the November general election.
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 Nome, about 70% of voters voted yes on the measure.
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.
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.
As of the primary election day, Nome had 2,728 registered voters. Early returns show 576, or about 21% of registered voters in Nome voted in the primary, although that number is expected to climb as absentee and questioned ballots are counted.
The 27 communities in Alaska House District 39 have 10,551 registered voters. We will update this story with turnout rates for the entire region once unofficial results, including mail-in ballots from the villages, are posted by the Division of Elections(opens in new tab).
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.
KNOM will provide more detailed reporting on election results, including village-by-village counts, in the coming days.
