Alaska’s jungle primary delivers familiar names — and a New York prison inmate — to November ballot

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Aug. 19, 2026 – Alaska’s jungle primary once again showed just how bizarre the state’s ranked-choice voting system can be: A convicted felon serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison in New York, who has never set foot in Alaska, appears to have advanced to the November ballot for Alaska’s only seat in Congress.

Eric Hafner, running as a Democrat, received 4,924 votes, or 3.8%, placing fourth in the crowded US House primary. Unless a later count changes the order, Hafner will join Republican Congressman Nick Begich, Democrat-backed independent Bill Hill and Democrat drop-out Matt Schultz on the final-four ballot.

Hafner was convicted of threatening to kill judges, police officers and others and of making false bomb threats. He ran for the same Alaska seat from prison in 2024 and reached the general-election ballot after two candidates who finished ahead of him withdrew. Hafner has never lived in Alaska or even visited the state.

Only under Alaska’s unusual election system could someone campaign from a prison cell nearly 3,000 miles away and emerge from a statewide primary as one of four candidates for Congress.

The Division of Elections’ final election-night update, posted at about 1:30 am Wednesday, contained few other surprises. It showed 132,746 voters participating and nearly 94% of precincts reporting.

In most races, the election simply confirmed that the same familiar candidates will return for the Nov. 3 general election. In many state legislative districts, four or fewer people were running, meaning every candidate automatically advanced regardless of how few votes he or she received.

Nick Begich turned in one of the strongest performances of the night. The incumbent Republican received 59,750 votes, or 46.15%, in the U.S. House race.

Bill Hill, who has been boosted by Democrat-aligned groups and the Arabella network’s Wheel Dog PAC, finished a distant second with 40,076 votes, or 30.95%.

Matt Schultz, who suspended his campaign in July and endorsed Hill, still received 10,435 votes, or 8.06%. His name remained on the ballot, and he appears to have finished third.

Hafner was fourth, followed by Democrat John Williams with 3,351 votes and Republican Clay Strickland with 3,058. The convicted felon received more votes than either of them.

Nick Begich’s nearly 15-point lead over Hill gives the congressman a solid position heading into November. Hill and Schultz together received roughly 39% of the vote, still well below Begich’s total. The more important question now is whether Schultz stays on the ballot or withdraws to consolidate Democrat and Democrat-aligned support behind Hill.

The 16-candidate US Senate primary also produced the expected general-election matchup.

Former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola led the preliminary count with 63,364 votes, or 48.04%. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan received 56,510 votes, or 42.84%.

The remaining 14 candidates divided less than 10% of the vote among themselves.

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., the Petersburg retiree known as “Decoy Dan,” received 3,222 votes, or 2.44%. The Democrat-planted candidate appears to have secured third place despite a federal investigation into whether he entered the race to confuse voters by using a name nearly identical to that of the incumbent senator. Subpoenas were issued on Tuesday by the Department of Justice.

Democrat David Leslie narrowly claimed fourth with 1,491 votes, or 1.13%, edging Republican Gerald Heikes, who received 1,468 votes.

That preliminary result would place Peltola, Sen. Sullivan, Decoy Dan and Leslie on the November ballot. The Alaska Democratic Party may pressure Leslie to withdraw before the Aug. 31 deadline, leaving Peltola as the only Democrat in the race. Whether Decoy Dan remains on the ballot is another question.

The crowded race for governor also unfolded largely as expected, although the order among the top Republicans provided an important early test of their support.

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and running mate Zac Johnson, backed by Big Tech artificial intelligence money from outside the state, led with 28,300 votes, or 21.67%. Democrat Tom Begich and Julia Hnilicka followed with 26,179 votes, or 20.05%.

Republican Bernadette Wilson and running mate Mike Shower finished third with 13,670 votes, or 10.47%, making Wilson the top Republican in the primary.

Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and Josh Church held fourth with 11,000 votes, or 8.42%. Former Attorney General Treg Taylor and Cheryl English finished just outside the top four with 9,731 votes, or 7.45%, followed by Click Bishop and Greta Schuerch with 9,321.

The preliminary November field for governor is therefore Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Tom Begich, Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson.

Although the two Democrats occupied the first two positions, Republican tickets collectively received more votes than the Democratic tickets. The Republican vote was divided among a much larger group of candidates, including Wilson, Bronson, Taylor, Bishop, Adam Crum, Shelley Hughes and several lesser-known contenders.

The legislative results further illustrated the oddity of the top-four system.

Every incumbent running for the Alaska House or Senate received enough votes to advance. In races with only one, two, three or four candidates, the primary eliminated no one. Candidates who finished last will simply face the same opponents again in November.

Even some of the closest election-night contests changed little. In House District 14, Republican Mia Costello led Democrat Denny Wells by 60 votes, 50.95% to 49.05%. Both advance.

In House District 27, Republican Elexie Moore received 33.79%, Republican Stephen Wright had 32.75%, and Democrat Kit Kennedy received 27.61%. All three advance.

In House District 33, nonpartisan-Democrat-supported Joy Beth Cottle led Republican Harmony Tomaszewski by just 65 votes, 51.29% to 48.71%. Both will appear on the November ballot.

Ballot Measure 1 passed overwhelmingly, with 92,783 yes votes, or 71.46%, compared with 37,059 no votes.

The measure imposes campaign contribution limits of $2,000 per election cycle for individuals giving to most candidates while allowing political groups to contribute up to $4,000. The limits are doubled for governor and lieutenant governor campaigns.

The measure is likely to face a constitutional challenge. Its lopsided passage also suggests many voters may not have understood that it treats individual Alaskans differently from unions, political groups and other organized entities.

Additional absentee, questioned and remaining early ballots will be counted in the coming days. The Division plans another major update Aug. 25, with final unofficial results expected Aug. 28 and certification targeted for Aug. 31.

The Alaska Story will publish another update when those votes are released, but at this point they are unlikely to change the overall order or percentages by much.

It’s all over but the shoutin’.