BY 11 VOTES INSTEAD OF 12
The Division of Elections conducted a recount for the District 29 race, which had a 12-vote difference between Ben Carpenter and Wayne Ogle for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Chenault.
Carpenter maintained his win, but by just 11 votes. Now the Republican Party nominee, he will face Shawn Butler, the Democrat nominee, in November.
The State Ballot Counting Review Board and officials at the Division of Elections recounted the votes, and the final tally is 1,374 votes for Carpenter and 1,363 votes for Ogle. Both candidates had observers watching the recount.
Carpenter is retiring this year from the Alaska National Guard, where he has served as a special staff officer in the commanding general’s office for organizational improvement and strategic communication. He served in the U.S. Army and Air Force and was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey.
He is a 1993 graduate of Nikiski High School and lives in Nikiski with his wife and children, where the family grows peonies for the ornamental flower market. Carpenter is co-owner of Cook Inlet Gardens and serves as the president of the Alaska Peony Market Cooperative, a trade association.