THE PLOT THICKENS WITH APPEARANCE OF A MAN NAMED CHARLIE CHANG…
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux showed up at the Division of Elections office on Gambell Street this morning to oversee the counting of 147-odd absentee ballots that will determine her fate.
But at the end of the day, the election workers were not quite ready finish verifying the ballots to be counted — they had spent all day whittling down whether the ballots were from legitimate voters, had the correct dates of birth and signatures, and whether the voters were registered in the district and could be counted for her race at all.
Further complicating the count is another 78 ballots that the Division of Election has mysteriously held back for further review because of anomalies or discrepancies that the Election Review Board will also need to look at on Monday.
It appears that at least 50 of them are legitimate ballots for that district. More will dribble in on Monday, if the past is any indicator, so the math will change.
There are the questioned ballots to be evaluated. That process of evaluation begins Monday as well.
The race for House District 15 was anything but expected. It’s a three-vote race result so far that has Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, who had amassed over $100,000 in her campaign treasure chest, trailing behind newcomer Aaron Weaver, who spent less than $2,000.
LeDoux didn’t have to sweat the election, because her Republican opponent had simply disappeared after filing for office.
But by examining her campaign finances, it appears that toward the end of July, LeDoux wasn’t going to take any chances.
On July 19, LeDoux paid a man named Charlie Chang of Fresno, Calif. some $10,000 to go bounty hunting for votes in the low-turnout district.
She also bought him a plane ticket to come from Fresno to Anchorage to work on the get-the-vote project, although no additional travel and lodging expenses are accounted for on her report. It’s a good guess that he stayed with family.
Of course, vote bounty hunting is not illegal unless Chang was paying people for their absentee ballots. But to be fair, that is not what the above APOC report shows.
It shows that for $10,000 and an unknown amount of time, Chang was acting as a translator and strategist, and for getting the vote out among “various ethnic communities in Muldoon.” Chang’s mailing address is in Fresno, California, but he is also registered to vote in at a trailer park on Muldoon Road, where multiple absentee votes were received from three or four trailers.
From one trailer, there were seven ballots that were received by the Division of Elections. Five of them were deemed not to count, because the people were not were not registered in the district.
In fact, there were 23 Changs who requested who used one of two trailers for their addresses.
How many of those Chang-acquired votes are legitimate is part of the game for deciding which votes get counted among the universe of absentee ballots.
At the end of the day, no resolution on the election results could be determined, but the number of absentee ballots that appear to be accepted and ready to be counted is 73.
For those ballots that are deemed to be legitimate for the district race (some were rejected for the district race but could be counted for the statewide race) it appears the number is down to 63.
Fifty-seven of those are Republican ballots.
The race now stands at Aaron Weaver-294, and Gabrielle LeDoux-291. Splitting up the universe of 57 votes is crunch time for LeDoux.
LeDoux needs 31 of those 57 Republican ballots to win by one vote. It seems likely she’ll prevail, since she spent over $73,000 for the 291 votes that she got, including the $10,000 she gave to Charlie Chang to bag some votes for her.
Another unknown factor is how many questioned ballots there are. The Division has that number, but has not released it yet.
ALASKAN SAYS STATE IS SUPPRESSING POLITICAL SPEECH
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska and the group that calls itself “Dunleavy for Alaska,” joined with Alaska resident Eric Siebels to file a lawsuit against the State of Alaska over political signs.
The lawsuit seeks to immediately block enforcement of a state statute barring political signs near roadways and asks for those rules to be struck down as unconstitutional.
Siebels is a longtime Alaska resident who, in 2014, constructed a 4’ x 8’ sign on his property in Palmer, advocating for the candidacy of Gov. Bill Walker. The sign had flower baskets and flags on it and was visible from the roadway.
The State never objected to the sign, even though Gov. Sean Parnell was in office, and Walker was challenging him.
In 2018, Siebels requested a sign from the Dunleavy for Alaska group and installed it in the exact same place, with flower pots and flags on it.
In July, Siebels learned that the Department of Transportation had announced a crackdown on political signs near roadways, and that citizens would be facing fines and criminal sanctions if their political signs were visible from a roadway. Coincidentally, Siebels is a state employee who works for DOT at the Ted Stevens International Airport, where he is a maintenance foreman.
In August, Siebels saw DOT had done as promised, and had flagged political signs in his community, including ones near his property.
Siebels also observed that DOT’s crackdown was exclusively focused on political speech, and omitted any enforcement of other kinds of signs.
As an example, Mr. Siebels observed that all political signs along a roadway in Palmer had been flagged by DOT with survey tape, whereas an adjacent sign advertising that vegetables were for sale one mile away was not flagged.
Alaska Statute 19.25.105 prohibits outdoor advertising on or within 660 feet of state rights-of-way for interstate, primary, and secondary highways within Alaska.
The complainants say this statute effectively prohibits thousands of Alaskans from displaying political speech anywhere on their own property.
On. July 10, the Alaska Department of Transportation sent a notice to Dunleavy for Alaska threatening financial and criminal sanctions for posting political signs within the view of certain roadways.
DOT told media outlets that it was part of a planned sweep of signs near roadways.
By its own admission, the Department of Transportation did not remove any of Gov. Bill Walker’s campaign signs. The order to remove the signs came after the Walker campaign purchased a large order of Anchorage bus wrap signs for the Walker campaign, tying up alternative outdoor advertising.
DOT spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy said that of the 200 to 250 political signs tagged for removal in Anchorage as part of this sweep, only about 50 posed immediate safety concerns. Her statement made it clear the overwhelming majority of the removed signs posed little or no risk to the public.
“There is no right more fundamental to a democracy than the right of an individual to express their personal political views,” said ACLU of Alaska Executive Director Joshua A. Decker, in a news release. “That is why the U.S. Supreme Court has afforded political speech special protection. If the government wants to seize that right by barring Alaskans from displaying political signs on their own property, they need a more compelling reason than because somebody might see it.”
“We have been blown away by Alaskans’ passionate response to our signs. Everyone seems to want one,” said Dunleavy for Alaska Chairman Terre Gales. “We have taken a lot of pride in designing colorful and attractive signs that Alaskans will enjoy. For the state to step in and say you can’t put up that sign because it says ‘Dunleavy’ but can keep the sign next to it that says ‘Veggies for sale’ just seems arbitrary. It makes you wonder why it is really being done.”
The Dunleavy for Alaska group has spent over $50,000 on signs, and that expenditure is known by the Gov. Bill Walker campaign, as they can check the financial records to see what the investment is.
According to the Dunleavy for Alaska group, the signs are in high demand, with over 100 requests for them in the past week alone:
The group says it has distributed at least 1,000 yard signs to Alaska voters in over 100 different communities statewide.
The group says it’s given directions to its volunteers and sign vendor to install signs only on private property, and only with the property owner’s consent.
Since the crackdown began, DOT has flagged and confiscated several Dunleavy for Alaska signs.
On Aug. 10, the group contacted DOT to recover its signs, but was told to come back on Aug. 13. Then, the state agency said that the group would have to pay $200 per sign to recover them. DOT prohibited the group’s representatives from entering the “sign graveyard” area where the signs were stored to count how many signs had been confiscated.
One of the exhibits the complainants are using is a photo from the Anchorage Daily News, which shows the sign graveyard and that only political speech signs have been targeted by the State.
(Anchorage Daily News photo is an exhibit in the lawsuit).
A man who spent not a penny on voter outreach, who raised $2,600 for his campaign and spent little of it, went on to beat the reigning Rules chairman of the Alaska State House of Representatives.
At least those are the results on Wednesday, before all the absentee ballots are counted.
It’s Aaron Weaver-294 and Gabrielle LeDoux-291. LeDoux was stunned on Election night as she stood watching results come in at the Dena-ina Center in Anchorage. She did not join fellow Republicans at the Election Central party at the Aviator Hotel.
Aaron Weaver didn’t ever think he could win against LeDoux, and didn’t want to waste the money of those who donated to his campaign. He felt she had too many resources at her disposal: Unions, her own prodigious fundraising ability, and her lobbyist connections. Plus, this is a district that just doesn’t turn out to vote.
Then came election night. Weaver didn’t watch television or the election results until a friend called him late Tuesday night and told him he had better turn on the news.
You could have blown him over with a feather. LeDoux had raised more than $104,000 and spent more than $73,000 on her campaign. But Weaver was practically beating her by the time the fourth of five precincts came in. By the time all were reported, he was three votes ahead.
In other words: LeDoux, the current matriarch of the Musk Ox Republicans, spent $250 a vote, and is still three votes short of tying Weaver.
The absentees votes will be counted Friday under the watchful eye of Alaska Republican Party Executive Director Josh Walton.
How many absentee ballots are there? 147 received but that had not been opened on Wednesday.
This race can’t be called just yet, but it’s a clear shot over the bow of the Musk Ox Coalition and shows that longevity as a Musk Ox Coalition member (one who puts the Democrats in charge) is always fragile in Alaska politics.
ELECTION PROVIDES GOVERNOR WITH A MESSAGE: “IT’S CLOSE, SO SEND MONEY”
Mike Dunleavy had an historic landslide victory in the primary on Tuesday, but Gov. Bill Walker thinks otherwise. He thinks it’s close.
And he wasted no time using the results of the primary to raise cash.
In a letter to potential supporters, Walker wrote Wednesday:
“This election will be very close. Our records show that you have not donated this year. After spending more than $600,000 in outside dollars to deliver a message of unsustainable dividends and unspecific spending cuts, our leading opponent has mustered little more than one third of the electorate.”
This electorate? It the same one Walker would not face in the primary.
Walker had first agreed to run in the Democrat primary, but then ran from it in June when Begich joined, and went on to collect 5,000 signatures to appear on the General Election ballot.
The signatures Walker gathered represent less than 5 percent of the electorate that took part on Tuesday, but give him equal standing on the ballot with those who participated in the primary. Gov. Walker is attempting to make history by being elected a second time as a no-party candidate.
Mike Dunleavy, the presumed leading opponent, garnered 39,193 votes in Tuesday’s semi-closed ballot, while his nearest competitor, Republican Mead Treadwell, earned 20,230 votes.
The electorate is made up of 566,790 registered voters, thanks to the increase brought by the automatic voter registration. Turnout in the Tuesday election was 18.20 percent, with just 103,175 voting.
Of those who voted, Dunleavy attracted 38 percent of the entire vote, in spite of the fact that Alaskans registered as Democrats, Libertarians, Independence Party, or members of other political parties are not able to cast the Republican ballot in the primary. Mark Begich, the lone Democrat, came in second with 29,806 votes. Anyone can vote the Democrats ballot.
Dunleavy and Begich, victors on their respective tickets, gobbled up 67 percent of the vote, in spite of the fact that the Treadwell name was on the Republican ballot. Treadwell has run for statewide office three times and is a well-known name. He is a former lieutenant governor.
While Treadwell lost the primary, some of those Treadwell votes will go to Dunleavy in the General Election, with an unknown percentage of the remainder peeling off for Begich or Walker.
In July, Gov. Bill Walker released poll data that showed he likely has 28 percent of the vote to Begich’s likely 22 percent of the vote. That poll was not viewed as credible, but an attempt to lessen Begich’s resolve to remain in the race. Walker faces an uphill battle as the least popular governor in America who is running for re-election.
Also in July, Harstad Strategic Research posted different results in a poll it did for Begich, which showed both Begich and Walker tied at 28 percent, and Dunleavy at 32 percent in a three-way race. Undecided/other voters totaled 12 percent in that poll.
Leave it to the venerable Associated Press to arrive late to one of the most disturbing trends of these times – the deconstruction and reshaping of the business of news – and then to somehow get the history wrong and some of the context as well.
“To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, if unsatisfactory conclusion….It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.”
One couldn’t get much deeper into the blend of journalism and commentary than to suggest how the country should end a war.
The Republican primary produced a few surprises in some Republican stronghold districts that are typically decided by the primaries:
Rep. George Rauscher of District 9 swept his three-way race with more than 50 percent of the vote. Musk Ox Republican Jim Colver got only 28 percent, and Pam Goode 22 percent. This was a race that many Republican political analysts thought could be closer, due to the massive influx of union political money into the Colver campaign.
Rep. DeLena Johnson held on to her House District 11 seat in decisive fashion, fending off a challenge from Edna DeVries, 59-41.
Former Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom, House District 13, won a three-way primary with 41.38 percent of the vote. This is the seat being vacated by Rep. Dan Saddler, who did not advance in the primary for Senate Seat G.
Kelly Merrick won House District 14 in a three-way race that put Jamie Allard in second and Eugene Harnett in third. That seat is the one being vacated by Rep. Lora Reinbold, who won the nomination for Senate Seat G, Eagle River, 58-42 over Rep. Dan Saddler.
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, a Musk Ox Republican, lost on election night in District 15, although she is down by only three votes. She could reverse that loss once the absentees and questioned ballots are counted, but considering her opponent, Aaron Weaver, did nothing at all on his campaign, this is a devastating outcome for the head of what are considered the turncoat Republicans. A recount is almost certain.
Sara Rasmussen scored a solid win over former Rep. Liz Vazquez in District 22, 54-46. She will face “nonpartisan” Rep. Jason Grenn in the General Election, along with Democrat Dustin Darden.
Connie Dougherty, District 23, won against Forrest McDonald, 53-47. She’ll face Chris Tuck, a well-funded union representative who belongs to the Democrats.
One of the biggest winners of the night on the Republican primary side was Rep. Chuck Kopp, District 24, who won nearly 71 percent of the vote against challenger Steve Duplantis.
Rep. Charisse Millett lost to Josh Revak, who took the District 25 race by 57-43. Millett wrote to Revak this morning: “Congratulations Josh!Let me know how I can help! We have the best District in the State – do good work. God bless you and your family.” While this district still could go to Democrat Pat Higgins, it’s been held by Millett since 2008. She faced a well-funded Revak, whose family friend poured $30,000 into defeating Millett with an independent attack campaign on her record.
Laddie Shaw upset the three-way race in House District 26, with a whacking 43 percent of the vote, while Joe Riggs and Al Fogle split the remainder. While Riggs and Fogle were the subject of sign-war drama, Shaw worked the doors as a retired Navy SEAL.
Wayne Ogle and Benjamin Carpenter in House District 29 are just three votes apart after all precincts were counted. They are vying for the seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Chenault.
Sen. Peter Micciche of District O trails this morning by 12 votes, with challenger Ron Gillham surprising the senator who has served since 2013. That outcome could still go either way after all the absentee and questioned ballots are counted. A recount is almost certain.
UNPRECEDENTED MARGIN FOR CONTESTED PRIMARY IN ALASKA
Primary voters who chose the Republican ballot gave Mike Dunleavy more than 39,193 votes on Tuesday, with more than 98 percent of the votes counted.
He becomes the nominee with a wide margin over his nearest competitor, Mead Treadwell, who received 20,230 votes.
It was a stunning 62-32 victory for the former Wasilla senator.
Beyond the raw numbers, the Dunleavy victory was an unprecedented margin in a contested gubernatorial primary in Alaska, said Tuckerman Babcock, chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
On the Democrats’ ballot, Mark Begich was the only contender, and he eased through the night with 29,886 votes.
How that sets Dunleavy, Begich, and Gov. Bill Walker up in a three-way primary will be the discussion of the week in political circles in Alaska.
Gov. Bill Walker can claim he has at least 5,000 votes coming out of the primary — those 5,000 are represented by signatures he submitted on a petition on Monday that will allow him to go to the General Election as a lone wolf, without a party organization of volunteers behind him. He will have to instead rely on his family and paid staff to advance his campaign.
Begich, on the other hand, now will get the support of the national Democratic Party, including the coveted funds that come from the Democratic Governors Association, which could be in the millions.
Of the 103,175 people who voted in the primary, Republican candidates received 64,754 votes, and Democrats got 38,421 votes. The main primary on the Democrats’ ballot was in the congressional race, where Alyse Galvin won with 55 percent of the vote to Demitri Shien’s 23 percent.
The best way to become governor of Alaska is to win the Republican primary, and to do so with commanding fashion puts Dunleavy in a strong position to succeed in November, whether there is a three-way race or a two-way.
Dunleavy hits the campaign trail to Soldotna today, while speculation swirls about whether Walker or Begich can muscle each other out of the race. They have until Sept. 4 to do so. Widespread pressure on Begich to drop out will only intensify in the days ahead. But so far, he has exhibited no signs of buckling.
The scene at the Aviator Hotel was upbeat, where hundreds of Republicans gathered to watch the results come in. Early in the night, when only 17 percent of the votes had been counted, Dunleavy leapt to a 30 point lead and stayed above that range the rest of the night. The ultimate outcome was never in question.
Kevin Meyer won the night for the lieutenant governor’s race, and now he and Dunleavy will form a ticket. Meyer took 36 percent of the vote to Edie Grunwald’s 27 percent.
Participants — many who had worked on various legislative campaigns — were in the mood to celebrate the victories and marvel at the upsets. At midnight, Treadwell walked through the mostly empty ballroom and spoke to those who remained, as the staff was clearing the tables.
“The whole race was about Alaskans saying ‘listen to us,’ said Dunleavy campaign manager Brett Huber. “The issues that carried were burning public issues of the Permanent Fund, reducing the cost of government, and Alaskans just want a governor who won’t break their trust.”
“Alaskans spoke loud and clear tonight,” Dunleavy said. “They want a government where leaders honor their promises. Restoring the trust of the people in their elected officials is crucial to our ability to turn this state around. Tonight’s victory belongs to the thousands of ordinary, working Alaskans who want leaders who say what they mean, and mean what they say.”
RESEARCHER NAILS THE OUTCOME
Dittman Research issued a prediction on Tuesday morning, which was embargoed until 8 pm when polls closed. The prediction was within one point of the ultimate outcome. Dittman predicted a 29 point margin of victory, which is nearly exactly where it ended last night:
BACK ON THE TRAIL
Fresh off his historic, landslide primary victory, Dunleavy hits the trail today for the Kenai Peninsula. He will be at Industry Appreciation Day on Saturday on the green strip in Kenai, from noon-3:30 pm.
I’m going to visualize Mike Dunleavy being Governor.
Dunleavy has no Executive Branch experience. I don’t know who around him has any, but there can’t be many.
In Frank Murkowski’s administration, we used up pretty much every nominal Republican who was at least marginally competent to accept a political appointment. We caught hell for firing so many selfless Democrat public servants, but we actually only replaced about 30 percent of the appointees.
If Knowles had won in 2006, he would have found most of his second term administration sitting there waiting for the return of the king.
Sarah Palin came in, and all the Murkowski appointees who hadn’t chosen to leave rather than work for her — I among them — got fired.
She replaced a few of them with some of her buddies but mostly Palin tried to run her government with a bunch of Knowles holdovers; what could go wrong?
Sean Parnell was so desperately afraid of the Sarah Palin tweet-in-the-night that he pretty much left her government, which was Knowles’ government, in place. Then he wondered why he was leaked, thwarted, sabotaged, and ultimately defeated by the Anchorage Daily News and its gaslighting National Guard phony scandal.
When Dunleavy wins, he’ll be awash in resumes from bright young lads and lasses who’ve always been dedicated Republicans and supported him to the hilt, or so they’ll say.
The first step is to see if they gave you any money. I’ve been around enough wannabe Republican appointees to know that the vast majority only want the appointment so they can parlay it into a lobbying contract and they couldn’t care less if the Governor that appointed them gets re-elected so long as they can get a lobbying contract.
The irony here is that the people who are most likely to be loyal to a Dunleavy administration are the merit system employees in State government, most of whom probably voted for one of the Democrats.
The government of Alaska was built by New Deal Era Democrats to be run by New Deal Era Democrats and employ the maximum number of Democrats. There is absolutely no way a Republican governor can fill all the politically appointed positions in State government with loyal and competent Republicans, and you can’t appoint the guy that did yeoman duty putting out signs for you as the head of a major division in State government.
But here is the rub for a Republican; you can’t run the government with holdovers. If you are to have a prayer of effectively running the government, you absolutely must fire everyone that you have a legal right to fire as your hand comes off The Bible.
The Hermaphrodite Administration (Bill Walker) fired everyone left from Palin/Parnell who’d ever had a Republican thought.
Consequently, almost everyone in the government in a position of any authority was hired or promoted by Knowles or by someone who was hired or promoted by a person hired or promoted either in Knowles or Walker. There are a very few relatively apolitical subject matter experts that it would be a shame to lose, but fire them anyway, let them miss a paycheck or two, and hire them back once they realize who is boss. The rest of them can lose their waterfront houses, boats, airplanes, vacation homes, and bedwarmers.
It is going to be lonely in State government when they’re all gone and you really don’t have much of a talent pool to draw on; there are really not a lot of competent, loyal Republicans who want to be a public employee, even a high-level one, when they grow up.
Find some good people to run the major areas where you must make changes.
In the rest of the government, go to the merit system employees who were direct reports to the appointees who are now unemployed. The vast majority of them will keep things running and not give you any trouble. It is far more trouble to fix something than to keep it running, so they’ll keep it running. You give them acting status and the pay of their former boss and most of them will behave and work productively. There’ll be a few ideologues and malcontents who’ll do something stupid, and you’ll just have to fire them. Yes, you can fire public employees, even unionized public employees.
Now the lobbyists and players who’ll flock to you once you’re elected will tell you that you can’t do this; that it will be too disruptive.
The reality is that the very hardest thing you could do would be to stop the government from running. The only major thing that will be disrupted are the contacts lists belonging to those lobbyists and players.
Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon. He only writes for Must Read Alaska when he’s banned from posting on Facebook. Chance coined the phrase “hermaphrodite Administration” to describe a governor who is simultaneously a Republican and a Democrat. This was a grave insult to hermaphrodites, but he has not apologized.
Must Read Alaska is “live blogging” today — all day until about 11 pm. That means updates will be at the top of this story with a time stamp.
Send your Election Day experience stories — good or bad — to [email protected] and I will keep your name private if I use a story that is critical of the process. Join Must Read Alaska at the Aviator Hotel starting at 6 pm for our Election Central livestream with Amy Demboski, and follow my updates here:
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Mike Dunleavy interviewed by Liz Raines of KTVA, with the photographer straining to get both of them in the picture.
8:55: In Ketchikan Precinct 3, Mead Treadwell and Mike Dunleavy are about even: 62 for Treadwell, 63 for Dunleavy.
In the lieutenant governor’s race, Ketchikan Precinct 3 gave it to Kevin Meyer with 54 votes.
8:45 pm: This is a precinct tape of interest to Ketchikan:
8 pm: The polls are now closed. I can reveal the Dittman Research prediction that he sent to me this afternoon:
7:50 pm: About 50 people now down here at the Aviator Hotel, as we wait for the polls to close and the results, which we expect to roll in at about 8:40 p.m.
6 pm: The rain finally found Juneau and the Dunleavy crew was ready this evening for the rush hour traffic at the corner of the Douglas Bridge and Egan Drive. Here they are packing up and heading home to dry off and watch the results come in.
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE
5:55 pm: Chugach Electric crews plan to reconnect approximately 1,100 consumers affected by the outage within the next couple hours. The remaining 350 to 400 consumers will be out for another 4 to 8 hours while replacing the pole. Crews are hoping to have the pole fixed and everyone restored by midnight.
5:36 pm: I went by the Dunleavy for Governor office on Northern Lights Blvd, and found Mike Dunleavy making phone calls along with the late-afternoon crew. They made 2,000 phone calls in the past 24 hours and did 11,000 peer-to-peer text messages to remind people to vote. Here is what the scene looked like:
POWER OUT IN SOUTH ANCHORAGE
5 pm: A slice of District 26 and most of 28 are impacted by a major outage affected 1,400 homes in that area. Chugach Electric is are replacing a snapped pole and it will be more than 12 hours before power is restored. Restaurants in South Anchorage will be jammed, so why not head down to the Aviator Hotel in downtown Anchorage and join us at Election Central.
District 28 is historically the highest turnout district in the state. The outage impacts the Huffman, DeArmoun, and O’Malley areas.
District 26 race that will be impacted somewhat is the race between Al Fogle,Joe Riggs and Laddie Shaw.
District 28 is the race between Republicans Jennifer Johnston and Ross Bieling.
The voting machines at the precincts impacted may have to be counted at Gambell Street and delay results in those areas.
Also, you can still vote at 2525 Gambell Street or at City Hall until 8 pm.
4:58: Dittman Research has given Must Read Alaska its predictions on the governor’s race but it’s embargoed until the polls close at 8 pm.
2:49 pm: An Election Night Party sponsored by Mead Treadwell starts at 7 pm at Bootleggers 8 Star Saloon, 612 F Street in Anchorage. Watch the results come in with Treadwell supporters, (next to Flat Top Pizza).
2:28 pm: A voter in District 22, Kincaid Elementary School polling place, said she asked for a Republican ballot and the poll worker tried to sell her on the virtues of voting the Democrat ballot. That is the heaviest Republican precinct in District 22.
Colony Middle School
2:25 pm: A voter at Colony Middle School was not happy that the election worker had such a hard time seeing.
“The only lady checking names off on the printout can’t see or read adequately. She highlighted [name redacted] for me to sign; my name id [different name redacted]. She set her pen down on the edge of her table. I caught it before it fell. She couldn’t see it when I returned it to her. I held it right in front of her, about four inches off the table. I asked the kid next to her to get a magnifying glass; she responded that she could see fine and that we were just confusing her by going too quickly. Help!!!”
2:05 pm:Sen. Mike Shower, who was appointed to serve the remaining term of former Sen. Mike Dunleavy in District E, spent the morning in the heavy downpour waving at drivers at the bridge of Trunk Road and the Parks Highway.
“Watching those 50,000 commuters go by was amazing, and there were a lot of honks and about every fifth car had someone waving back. Only about five one-finger salutes,” he said. No sign of Randall Kowalke, who is running against Shower for the Senate seat.
Tonight, Sen. Shower and his wife Michelle Shower are having a thank-you party in their hangar for the volunteers on his campaign. “I just think it’s more appropriate to stay in my district and thank people here,” he said, explaining why he will not be heading to Anchorage for the Election Central event at the Aviator Hotel.
1:35 pm: In Sutton, the rain was pouring down all morning, but Rep. George Rauscher was sign waving there before heading to Farm Loop to wave at drivers and remind them to vote for him. Also spotted in the Farm Loop area was his main rival, former Rep. Jim Colver, who was standing with some of his union “volunteers” to wave at District 9 voters.
Campaign volunteers wave at passersby in Sutton, and feature a sign saying, “Take a Walk Walker” on Primary Election Day.
1:12 pm: The rain pours down in Southcentral through Fairbanks still, but Juneau had a beautiful day for voting. The sign-wavers at the Egan Expressway turnout started at daybreak, with about 12 people with coffee cups in one hand and signs in the other waving for Mike Dunleavy for governor. Joining them at the scenic turnout were two people waving signs for Rob Edwardson for House District 34 — one of those sign wavers was Rep. Justin Parish, who Edwardson works for as an aide. Edwardson is Parish’s choice to replace him. A couple of people sign-waved for Edwardson’s primary opponent, Andi Story. Edwardson vs. Story are one of the few contested Democratic primaries today.
This afternoon the sign-waving will continue for the home-bound traffic.
12:34 pm: Update from Ketchikan, it’s a gorgeous 75-degree day, with a cloudless sky, yet voter turnout seems low in Alaska’s First City, according to our source. It was the slowest poll workers had seen in years by 9:30 am, but it’s starting to pick up during the noon hour. There will be a sign-waving crew for Dunleavy for governor during the afternoon going-home drive.
“Alaskans voting in the state’s primary election Tuesday are poised to set up a rare three-way race for governor amid unhappiness with independent incumbent Bill Walker, a struggling economy and a rising crime rate.
“Former state senator Mike Dunleavy is heavily favored to win a seven-person race for the Republican nomination when polls close at 8 p.m. local time. He had 46% support, compared with 19% for his closest competitor, in a recent poll.
“Former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is running unopposed on the Democratic side.
“In a three-way race, Mr. Dunleavy has the support of between 32% and 36% of likely Alaska voters, while Mr. Walker gets 28% and Mr. Begich gets between 22% and 28%, according to a pair of recent polls, one commissioned by Mr. Walker’s campaign and one by a labor union.”
11:45 am: “I am now predicting that we have a 24 percent voter turnout today.” – Suzanne Downing,Must Read Alaska.
As of last night, the Division of Elections had sent out 9,836 mail ballots, and received 4,698 back. 6,906 had early voted before the close last night at the early voting locations. This appears to be about normal compared to earlier years.
11:32 am:Stanley Wright, running for District 16 unopposed in the Republican primary, was still not taking any votes for granted and campaigned in the pouring rain. “God bless America”:
11:24 am: A reader is still steamed about the Anchorage municipality’s mail-in election and sent this picture to express her displeasure with the local elections held in April:
11:02 am:Bernie Moffitt, a veteran voting in Meadow Lakes in Wasilla says that he was given the Democrat ballot after being told that he was a member of the Veterans political group, which prohibited him from voting in the Republican Primary. He says that he thinks he checked a box on his voter registration card that indicated he is a veteran, and that it put him into the “Veterans Party.” He wanted to vote the Republican ballot and was eventually allowed to vote it but had to change his party affiliation to Undeclared. “We thought putting veteran on our voter registration was just because we’re veterans, the majority of us are Republicans. It’s incredible.”
10:25 am:Marcus Sanders has finished voting in District 17. He ran into one of his elementary school teachers there at Lake Otis Elementary School and she said she was voting for him: “Very emotional moment for me this morning at the polls. I ran into one of my elementary school teachers who told me she was voting for me. She said she remembered the challenges I had growing up – she saw them first hand. Hands down one of the most profound moments I’ve had on the campaign trail. To have the support of those who made me into the man I am today is such a high honor.”
10:10 am: Report has come in from Bartlett High School in Anchorage that voting starting off rough. “The Bartlett High School Polling Place is an EPIC fail this morning. The doors were not opened until 7:20 AM. When they did open, they had no idea what to do. They couldn’t find the Republican ballots. When they did finally find them, the electronic box that takes your ballot is rejecting all of the voters ballots with the machine stating “INVALID BALLOT” Then the polling people took my ballot and started showing it to everyone in the office. Same thing with the next guy in line behind me. WTF.”
Mead Treadwell and crew waves to drivers during rush hour traffic in Anchorage.
9:31 am: For sign-wavers in Fairbanks, it was a quiet morning. Sign-wavers for Mike Dunleavy were at the Airport/University intersection. No other candidates showed up. A handful of Kathryn Dodge/Alyse Galvin supporters were spotted at Airport and Lathrop. No other sign-wavers showed up at any other corner on the south side of Fairbanks. Missing were all the usual union workers, which usually show up by the dozens to wave signs. Begich supporters were not seen, but he doesn’t have an opponent on the Democrats’ ballot.
