By SUZANNE DOWNING
Nov. 4, 2026 – Nick Begich leads by nearly 20,000 votes but sits just shy of a majority. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads for governor, and ranked-choice repeal trails.
Mary Peltola and Republican U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan traded the lead Tuesday night, and Alaska woke up Wednesday with just 626 votes separating them. Peltola had 102,701 first-choice votes, or 48.02%, to Sullivan’s 102,075, or 47.73%, in the unofficial count with 394 of 401 precincts reporting.
Absentee ballots sent by mail can still arrive over the coming days, and additional ballots remain to be counted. The Division of Elections says it will release official ranked-choice tabulations Nov. 18, after all eligible ballots have been reviewed and counted. Any candidate who finishes the first-choice count with more than 50% wins outright. In races without a first-choice majority, lower finishers are eliminated and their ballots transfer to the next ranked candidate still in contention.
Two Sullivans and a Democrat push for Heikes
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., the Decoy Dan Sullivan on the Senate ballot, drew 3,583 first-choice votes, or 1.68%. That’s nearly six times the margin between the two leaders. The Alaska Story has heard several accounts from voters who said they were unsure which Sullivan they had marked and from others who believed they had picked the wrong one. The returns show how many first-choice votes each Sullivan received. They cannot show how many voters intended to choose the other man.
Republican Gerald L. Heikes received 4,821 first-choice votes, or 2.25%, after an outside ad campaign cast him as the conservative choice and urged voters to rank him alone. Democrat-favoring Alaska Values spent at least $3.75 million on the race, according to federal filings. The group had yet to disclose its donors at the time of that report. If a Heikes voter ranked him alone and he is eliminated, that ballot has no next choice to transfer.
Begich holds the strongest lead among statewide candidates
Republican US Rep. Nick Begich led nonpartisan challenger Bill Hill by 19,515 votes. Begich had 105,353 first choices, or 49.51%, to Hill’s 85,838, or 40.34%. Democrat Eric Hafner, in prison in New York, had 15,501 votes, or 7.28%, and Libertarian Jim McDermott had 5,763, or 2.71%.
Begich has the clearest path of the three statewide leaders. He is less than half a percentage point short of a first-choice majority. If he stays below that threshold after the remaining ballots are counted, later rankings will decide the race.
Kreiss-Tomkins leads a field split three ways among Republicans
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins led the governor’s race with 103,610 votes, or 49.01%. Bernadette Wilson and Mike Shower led the Republican tickets with 61,566 votes, or 29.12%. Bronson/Church had 29,900 votes, or 14.14%, and Taylor/English had 15,713, or 7.43%.
Democrats had one ticket on the ballot while Republican first choices were spread across three. Together, those three tickets drew 107,179 votes, or 50.70%. That gives Republicans a path if enough voters ranked another Republican, but the combined total tells us little about how many did do ranking on their ballots.
Kreiss-Tomkins remains within a point of winning outright if the remaining first-choice votes push him over 50%.
Ranked-choice repeal trails by 7,556 votes
Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal ranked-choice voting and Alaska’s top-four primary, trailed with 98,218 votes in favor, or 48.15%, and 105,774 against, or 51.85%. The measure is a straight yes-or-no vote. Outstanding ballots can still change the margin.
The Alaska Story will update this article as more results come in. Coverage of legislative and other races will follow.
12 thoughts on “Peltola leads Sen. Sullivan by 626 votes as Alaska’s top races remain unsettled”
[…] Peltola leads Sen. Sullivan by 626 votes as Alaska’s top races remain unsettled […]
Why aren’t those that put in a “write-in” vote as first choice not being tallied in the State wide races? Those affect percentages. Also, their second choice is going to matter.
I realized last night that I live in a different State than the one I had lived in the previous 69 years. This is especially strange since geographically I hadn’t moved.
I feel your pain. 66 years for me. However, I DID move and it’s even bluer in this place. 😝🤯
If the RCV repeal fails, the folks promoting repeal might change their focus: Get rid of the damnable jungle primary!
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These shenanigans won’t be possible if partisans pick one during the primary race. Unless somebody decides to pull a Princess Lisa style write-in campaign.
How Ironic is this? Decoy Dan was in the end a valuable asset for the commiecrats, not just because he siphoned off a couple of votes, but because he was the focus of the commies dirty tricks as Gerald Heikes plunged in the dagger.
The useful idiots who voted for Gerald are to be congratulated for Mary’s victory.
Get ready for taxes to increase and prices to go up Alaskans! Dems tricked you!
Taxpayer, it will be MUCH more than just those two things should the gay communist manage prevail with RCV. It is truly sickening that enough Alaska voters voted for him thinking socialism/communism is going to lower the price of gas or anything else. Then wait until they see their PFD checks go bye-bye too.
IF AKGOP really wanted to try maintaining its control of the Governor’s office they would had Forced the candidates not making First place finisher to drop out. Because if Bronson and Taylor dropped out Bernedette could be look at 107,169 votes.
A reminder their mistake. AkGOP current staff and committee and district leaders took a Gamble using its game plan and they lost BIG just as predicted.
If Republicans can survive the next four years and no one actually leaves the state (or FLEES) by the next AK gubnatorial election in 2030, and AKDemocrats don’t make it harder like statewide mail in ballots , aKGOP must learn to unite behind ONE candidate. What did I say? Any Good for Republican minded Alaskans using RCV it’s going to teach them how to Unite.
Diesel is over $6 a gallon, and we are in an absolutely pointless war at the behest of Israel, and the entire Republican party voted to cover up the Epstein files. Sure guys it’s all ranked choice voting that they are losing handily
Democracy could still come off the rails here. As the head of Alaska Democrats advised, don’t go out unprepared!
Hey folks, look at the bright side. Now Dumocrats and RINO’s can show you how wonderful their policies will treat all of us.
So despite conservatives having to suffer, the idiot leftists who RCV’d these BLUE “wins” will suffer as well, and misery loves company!
Ironic how the definition of ‘win’ becomes identical to ‘lose’…!