Robert Myers, who challenged Sen. John Coghill for Senate Seat B in Fairbanks-North Pole, has survived the recount that Coghill requested.
The final tally is 1,739 to 1,725, a 14-vote difference.
Coghill was part of the Senate leadership team under Sen. Cathy Giessel, who also lost her seat in the Aug. 18 primary. Voters were upset with the way the budget and the Permanent Fund dividend calculation was handled, and also with the stance that several Republican lawmakers took against Gov. Mike Dunleavy on his attempts to put a spending cap and the Permanent Fund dividend in front of a vote of the people for constitutional amendments.
In House District 23, Republican Connie Dougherty also asked for a recount, after being bested by Cathy Henslee. The winner of that primary will go on to challenge Democrat Chris Tuck in the General Election. That recount has not yet been posted by the Division of Elections.
Myers is behind in fundraising, he ran on a shoestring budget. His main opponent Marna Sanford is well funded with at least $60,000 in her campaign treasury for her Indie-Democrat campaign, much of it coming from outside the district and outside the state. Evan Eads also is on the November ballot as a no-party candidate.
The Democrats have been offering no-party candidates as their preferred alternative to registered Democrats, but this time it bit them because they created a three-way race for the General Election, where two will take on a Republican during a presidential election year, when more Republicans get out and vote.
Myers said the first order of business for him will be to raise funds for his campaign, as he is well-aware that Sanford has a warchest, but also he has to get some hours on the clock at his day job, because he has a mortgage to pay.
His website is www.myersforalaska.com.
