Former state rep tops ranked-choice slugfest as Alaska advances nominees for governor

Seventeen governor-lieutenant governor candidate pairs battled Tuesday to make the primary cutoff and advance to the November general election to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Michael Dunleavy.

Former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and running mate Zac Johnson finished first, while former Democratic state Sen. Tom Begich and Julia Hnilicks finished second. They will advance to the November general election, alongside two more winning governor-lieutenant governor pairs. 

Several major political names were among the 34 candidates on the ballot for the two executive offices.

The frontrunner heading into Tuesday’s contest was Begich, whose family has been involved in Alaska politics nearly since the Last Frontier achieved statehood.

The state uses ranked-choice voting in general elections. Voters rank candidates by preference, and votes are redistributed in successive rounds as lower-performing candidates are eliminated.

Though Alaska is considered a red state, Dunleavy’s departure gives Democrats such as Begich an opportunity to flip the governor’s mansion. Begich III defeated then-Rep. Mary Peltola last cycle after Peltola had won the seat following the death of Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who had represented the state for nearly five decades.