Democrats ahead in governor, U.S. Senate election

Amid strong showings by Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans in state races Tuesday, non-partisan Brent Johnson had a double-digit lead over incumbent Republican Rep. Sarah Vance in the primary election for the Homer area’s House District 6.

Johnson’s high vote tally remains symbolic, as both candidates advance to the general election in November. With all nine precincts counted for District 6, Johnson led Vance 55% to 45%. District 6 had a 30% voter turnout, which was higher than the 2024 election.

Johnson took 60 percent or more of the vote in most of the district’s southern precincts, including 64 percent in Vance’s hometown of Homer. Vance was the favored candidate in precincts from Anchor Point north. She won 63 percent of the vote in Johnson’s home precinct of Kasilof. 

Early voting accounted for 18 percent of the totals in District 6, with Johnson claiming those votes by a 71-29% margin.

Republican Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak, running for retiring Sen. Gary Stevens’ Senate District C seat, had a solid lead over fellow Republicans Heath Smith of Homer and Carrie Harris of Anchor Point. With all 21 precincts counted, Stutes had 48% of the vote to Smith with 40% and Harris with 13%. Stutes, a member of the Alaska House bipartisan majority coalition, has been running as a moderate Republican. All three candidates advance to the general election.

Vance said she wasn’t discouraged by the results and anticipates a big change in November. 

“I think (Johnson’s) voting block has been angry and motivated, and showed up to vote. I greatly respect their participation, but know that I have not lost my voter base and will look forward to a strong election in November,” she said. 

Vance defeated Johnson in 2024 to win re-election to the state House. Since defeating incumbent Rep. Paul Seaton in 2018, she has continually held off challengers. 

Johnson said he was happy with the election results and the increased voter turnout, which he thought reflected a growing interest in local government. He said he looks forward to the general election campaign and invited voters to contact him to discuss governmental issues. 

In what could be the sign of a blue wave in Alaska, Democrats led in results for two of the big statewide prizes. 

Two Democratic Party candidates, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Tom Begich, won a combined 42% of the votes for governor, and Democrat Mary Peltola held a slight lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in the U.S. Senate race.

“I love that over 40% of Alaskans picked the same vision for the state. We had projected we would get fewer than 25,000 votes, about 17 or 18%, because of the diverse field, but we exceeded those numbers, as did Jonathan,” Tom Begich said Wednesday.

Those Democratic hopes were tempered by a strong showing in the U.S. House race by incumbent Rep. Nick Begich III, a Republican (and Tom Begich’s nephew), who got 46% of the vote compared to 31% for nonpartisan Bill Hill.

Both Stutes and Harris said they were pleased with their results in the primary. Harris in particular was happy since she didn’t collect campaign donations and reported minimal campaign expenses.

Smith called his share of the vote “respectable” and said the numbers showed a pathway to success. He won 50 percent of the votes in the senate district’s southern Kenai Peninsula precincts, compared to 36 percent for Stutes, whose numbers were strong in Kodiak.

Statewide, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins led in the governor race, with nearly 22%, closely followed by Democrat Tom Begich with 20%. In a crowded Republican Party field, Bernadette Wilson had 11% followed by Dave Bronson with 9%. They will apparently be joining the Democrats in a four-way ranked-choice race for governor. 

Former Gov. Bill Walker’s hopes of getting re-elected have been dashed — his 4% of the vote ranked him ninth overall.

In the U.S. Senate race, former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, had a lead of 48% over incumbent U.S. Senator Dan S. Sullivan with nearly 43%. In third place is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. of Petersburg, with 2.4%.

Ballot Measure 1 passed with an overwhelming majority — 71.46% of voters in favor versus 28.54% against. The ballot measure reinstates campaign contribution limits, formally repealed in 2022, for state and local offices. 

Individual contribution limits per election cycle will be set at $2,000 for candidates, up to $4,000 for a joint governor/lieutenant governor ticket and up to $5,000 for political parties. Political party contribution limits are $4,000 for candidates and $5,000 for other parties or political groups.

Under Alaska’s open primary election, the top four candidates in each race advance to the general election.

Following the addition of absentee ballots, election officials will certify results on Aug. 31.

The voters of House District 6 overwhelmingly supported Ballot Measure 1, with 68.8% voting “yes.” 

Nearly 30% of district voters picked Kreiss-Tomkins in the governor’s race, and 17% picked runner-up Tom Begich. Anchor Point native Adam Crum was the top Republican vote-getter in House District 6, with 12% of the vote over Bernadette Wilson’s 11%. Third-runner-up Dave Bronson, with 5.27% in the district, came in slightly under Shelley Hughes with 5.64% and Treg Taylor with 5.86%.

For the U.S. Senate race, 51% of registered voters in House District 6 cast their ballots for Peltola. Forty-one percent voted for incumbent Dan S. Sullivan and 2% voted for Dan J. Sullivan. 

For the U.S. House race, 44% voted for incumbent Nick Begich III, 34% for Bill Hill, 5% for Eric Hafner and 2% for John Williams. Six percent of voters cast ballots for Matt Schultz, even though he suspended his campaign in July.

Voter turnout on Tuesday was higher than the 2024 primary election for southern Kenai Peninsula precincts. 

Unofficial results show 5,510 of 18,420 registered voters in House District 6, including 983 early voters, cast their ballots. District 6 reaches from Seldovia to Kasilof, north of Ninilchik.

Voter participation in Homer’s three precincts — Homer No. 1, Homer No. 2 and Diamond Ridge — averaged 23.32%, compared to 16.25% in 2024. Kachemak-Fritz Creek saw the highest turnout at 31.37%. Fox River, including the villages at the end of East Road, saw the lowest comparative turnout at 17% — still an increase from 11.5% in 2024. Seldovia-Kachemak Bay had nearly 23% voter turnout.

Nearly 26% of Ninilchik voters and 24% of Anchor Point voters turned out, over just 17% for each of those precincts in 2024. 

Preliminary election results as of 2:59 p.m.

Proposition 1

Yes — 92,783 votes (71.46%)

No — 37,059 votes (28.54%)

Senate District C

Louise Stutes, Republican — 3,351 votes (47.63%)

Heath Smith, Republican — 2,776 votes (39.46%)

Carrie Harris, Republican — 908 votes (12.91%)

House District 6 

Brent Johnson, nonpartisan — 2,940 votes (54.99%)

Rep. Sarah Vance, Republican (incumbent) — 2,406 votes (45.01%)

Alaska Governor

Kreiss-Tomkins/Johnson, Democrat/nonpartisan— 28,383 votes (21.62%)

Begich/Hnilicka, Democrat — 26,356 votes (20.07%)

Wilson/Shower, Republican — 13,708 votes (10.44%)

Bronson/Church, Republican — 11,032 votes (8.40%)

U.S. House

Rep. Nick Begich, Republican (incumbent) — 60,061 votes (46.12%)

Bill Hill, nonpartisan — 40,220 votes (30.89%)

Matt Schultz, Democrat (withdrawn)* — 10,469 (8.04%)

Eric Hafner, Democrat — 4,954 votes (3.80%)

John B. Williams, Democrat — 3,402 votes (2.61%)

* Schultz will not appear on the general ballot in November. Hafner will take his spot as the next closest vote-getter, followed by John Williams, who originally finished fifth in the primary. Hafner is a convicted felon serving time in a New York prison.

U.S. Senate 

Mary Peltola, Democrat — 63,810 (48.09%)

Dan S. Sullivan, Republican — 56,717 (42.74%)

Daniel J. Sullivan, Republican*  — 3,232 (2.44%)

David B. Leslie, Democrat — 1,499 (1.13%)

* No party affiliation is listed on ballot, but Sullivan of Petersburg lists his party as Republican.