Conservative voters poured to the polls on Tuesday and gave Mike Dunleavy a resounding victory against Democrat Mark Begich. Dunleavy will become Alaska’s next governor, to be sworn in on Dec. 3.
By Wednesday morning, Dunleavy and his running mate Kevin Meyer were 9 points ahead of Begich, 52.4-43.6, with 98 percent of the vote counted.
Winning over 50 percent of the vote in a race with four names to choose from is strong. Mandate strong.
Sarah Palin won with 48.3 percent in 2006, while Sean Parnell won with 59.1 percent in 2010, and Bill Walker won with 48.1 percent in 2014.
Walker, the current governor, won nearly 2 percent of the vote this time around. He withdrew from the race in mid-October. Libertarian Billy Toien won under 2 percent.
Don Young, the Dean of the House, vanquished challenger Alyse Galvin, who ran in the Democrats’ primary. Young, who is 85, has served in the House since 1973 and is the longest-serving current House member. He won 54-46 at latest count.
Ballot Measure 1 also failed decisively, 64-36.
“Today Alaskan voters made the right choice to protect our jobs, our economy and our communities,” Stand for Alaska Vote No on 1 campaign manager Kati Capozzi said. “Ballot Measure 1 was a radical overhaul of our salmon habitat protections. Voters today showed they believe our current regulations have served to protect our habitat and allow for responsible development.”
“Alaskans have sent a clear message to the global investment community that the state has high standards for development and promotes a fair process for determining if potential projects in Alaska such as Pebble can meetthose standards,” said Pebble Limited Partnership CEO Tom Collier. “The outgoing administration would not publicly stand up for its robust regulatory and permitting system. In governor-elect Dunleavy, we will have a strong, fair leader for Alaska who recognizes that a level playing field for all projects is in the best interests of Alaska and an important step in attracting investment for Alaska’s economy. We look forward to working with him.”
SNAPSHOT OF RACES
Fairbanks: Sen. Pete Kelly, the Republican, is in the closest of races against Democrat Scott Kawasaki, who left his seat in the House to challenge Kelly. The race is just 11 votes in Kelly’s favor, which will likely change as more absentee votes come in.
Bart LeBon, a Republican, edged Kathryn Dodge, 51-49 for Kawasaki’s House Seat 1.
Rep. Steve Thompson, a Republican, was easily reelected to House Seat 2.
Democrat Grier Hopkins won District 4 over Jim Sackett, 51-44. That was an open seat.
Democrat Rep. Adam Wool won over Kevin McKinley, in District 5, 53-47.
Republican Rep. Dave Talerico won over Ed Alexander in District 6, 63-37.
Interior: Republican George Rauscher won District 9 with 69 percent of the vote.
Valley: Republican Rep. David Eastman easily fended off petition candidate Doyle Holmes, winning 57.77 percent of the vote.
Republican Rep. DeLena Johnson of Palmer District 11 won with nearly 73 percent.
Republican Rep. Cathy Tilton took 76 percent of the vote for District 12.
Republican Nancy Dahlstrom took 71.57 percent of the vote for District 13, Eagle River.
Republican Kelly Merrick won 66 percent in Eagle River, and will be replacing Rep. Lora Reinbold, who went to the Senate.
Anchorage: Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux won with the least amount of votes of any winning candidate, just 40 percent. Write-in candidate Jake Sloan drained off nearly 26 percent and Democrat Lyn Franks got 34 percent.
In House District 22, Sara Rasmussen upset Rep. Jason Grenn, who was a no-party candidate. She won 47-41, with Democrat Dustin Darden skimming off 11.6 percent.
In House District 25, Josh Revak won over Pat Higgins, 52.3 to 47.5, despite a last minute smear mailer by the Higgins camp.
In House District 27, Rep. Lance Pruitt hung on to his House seat with over 51 percent.
Juneau: The Capital City will continue to be represented by all Democrats, with Jesse Kiehl winning for Senate Seat Q, and Sara Hannan winning the valley seat 33, with Andi Story winning in District 34.
Homer: House District 31 went to Sarah Vance, who upset the incumbent Rep. Paul Seaton. She took 58.5 percent of the vote, administering a lower-Peninsula spanking to long-time House member Paul Seaton.
Judge Michael Corey was not retained by voters.
This story will be updated.
