In the 9 pm Friday update from the Division of Elections, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has pulled ahead of Kelly Tshibaka in the first round of counting for the U.S. Senate race. Result can be viewed at this link.
Sen. Murkowski now sits with 43.32% of the vote. That means 56.68% of Alaska voters chose someone else on the first round of counting.
Murkowski’s current result is more than a percent less than what voters gave her in 2016, when she won with 44.4% of the vote.
In 2010, Murkowski won with 39.5% of the vote. Murkowski has been Alaska’s U.S. senator since appointed by her father in 2002. She won with 48.6% in 2004, her first statewide election, which was the best she has ever done with Alaska voters.
This time, however, with ranked choice voting, she will get another bite of the apple. The second-choice votes from voters are calculated by the Division of Elections on Nov. 23, and Murkowski is expected to pick up most of Democrat Pat Chesbro’s voters’ second choice to reach over 50%, which is what is needed to win in the ranked-choice system that was designed by her supporters to ensure her win this year.
Compared to her win in 2016, this year Murkowski is far behind in first-place votes. In 2016, she received 138,149 votes, with Libertarian Joe Miller receiving 90,825, no-party candidate Margaret Stock getting 41,194 and Democrat Ray Metcalf pulling in 36,200.
This year, Democrat Pat Chesbro has gotten 9,326 less votes than Democrat Ray Metcalfe received in 2016, when he got 11% of the vote. Chesbro now is at 10.35%.
The 2022 general election results will be final on Nov. 23, and the election is set to be certified on Nov. 29.
Senate race
- Murkowski 112,519, 43.32%
- Tshibaka 110,861, 42.68%
- Chesbro 26,874, 10.35%
- Kelley 7,484, 2.88%
House race
- Peltola 127,364, 48.68%
- Palin 67,485, 25.79%
- Begich 61,179, 23.38%
- Bye 4,521, 1.73%
Governor race
- Dunleavy/Dahlstrom 131,770, 50.34%
- Gara/Cook 63,284, 24.17%
- Walker/Drygas 54,230, 20.72%
- Pierce/Grunwald 11,723, 4.48%
In state Senate races, Anchorage Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar, running for Senate Seat J, has exceeded the 50%+1 threshold in his east Anchorage district, fending off two other contestants, including Rep. Geran Tarr, and avoiding having to go into the runoff round of counting, via the ranked-choice voting method now in use in Alaska.
- Dunbar 4,278, 50.02%
- Satterfield 2,800, 32.74%
- Tarr 1,432, 16.74%
In House races, Rep. Neal Foster of District 39 (Nome) has surged past challenger Tyler Ivanoff of Shishmaref, to an insurmountable win for that area, with 1,834, or over 51.19%. For several days the two were with 10 votes of each other and as of Friday, Foster was just three votes ahead, but later on Friday a surprising number of votes have been added to his total. Ivanoff has 1,726 votes, 48.17%.
Democrat Rep. Andy Josephson in Anchorage has gained even more in the absentee and early votes, and is now at 52.42% over Republican challenger Kathy Henslee, 47.44%. It appears he has won another term in office.
The latest release of ballot counts from late Friday night includes Region IV — All House district absentee (all counts) received through Thursday and early votes cast in the Region IV office. Also, HD 1 and 3-6 (all counts) through Nov. 15, HD 2 (all counts) through Nov. 17, questioned HD 2 and 5 (all counts) early votes from Region I early voting locations.
This report updates an earlier report from Friday mid-day.
