In the 2022 state legislative races, Democrats and small-Permanent Fund dividend Republicans were winners for the Alaska State Senate. Republicans lost two seats and Democrats gained two, giving them nine seats to the 11 seats held by Republicans. Republican senators are actively forming a bipartisan coalition majority, similar to the bipartisan caucus that ruled during the days of the Bipartisan Working Group of the 27th Legislature, which had six Republicans and 10 Democrats. They are cutting out the most conservative senators, Sens. Shelley Hughes, Mike Shower, and Rob Myers, all Republicans. They are, at this writing, considering giving Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat, chairmanship of the Rules Committee, where he can kill or move legislation. Former Sen. Cathy Giessel, a Republican who opposed Gov. Mike Dunleavy while she was Senate president, and who supported abortion-promoter Bill Walker for governor, returns to the Senate as part of this bipartisan caucus.
In the House, Republicans won 21 seats, which makes for a strained majority, with some legislators not wanting to include the most compromising and the least compromising legislators in the caucus. Announcements about the majority are expected soon and may include no-party members.
The winners who won by the biggest margin were those with no opponents or opponents who didn’t campaign. Here’s the list of landslide victories (over 69%):
Senate – Candidates who won with over 60% of the vote
Jesse Kiehl, Senate Seat B: 95.82%, (no opponent)
Shelley Hughes, Seat M: 75.82%
Bert Stedman, Senate Seat A: 68.79%
Loki Tobin, Seat I 66.41%
Rob Myers, Seat Q: 62.59%
Lyman Hoffman, Seat S: 64.74%
House District – Candidates who won with over 60% of the vote
Josiah Patkotak, House District 40: 97.92%, (no opponent)
Mike Prax, House District 33: 97.51%, (no opponent)
Bryce Edgmon, House District 37: 96.52%, (no opponent)
Ben Carpenter, District 8: 96.60%, (no opponent)
Andi Story, House District 3: 95.45%, (no opponent)
C.J. McCormick, House District 38: 85.09%, (no opponent)
Cathy Tilton, District 26: 80.83%
Sara Hannan, House District 4: 79.19%
DeLena Johnson, District 25: 77.83%
Genevieve Mina, House District 19: 74.21%
George Rauscher, House District 29: 74.12%
Alyse Galvin, House District 14: 66.94%
Mike Cronk, House District 36: 65.37%
Jamie Allard, House District 23: 61.52%
Louise Stutes, House District 5, 60.95%
