Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins took an early lead in Alaska’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday evening as election officials counted just over 206,000 ballots. With 314 of 402 precincts reporting shortly after 11 p.m., he held 48.9% of first-choice votes, enough to put him ahead for now but still short of the majority that would settle the race outright.
The count matters because Kreiss-Tomkins is trying to turn an early advantage into a result that could make him Alaska’s first Democratic governor since 2002. At 37, he spent a decade representing Southeast Alaska in the Legislature before launching his campaign in February and building a field that swelled to 17 candidates ahead of the August primary.
He emerged from that primary as the top vote-getter and then outpaced his three general-election opponents in fundraising, while campaigning in rural villages that statewide office seekers rarely visit. On Tuesday night, he said he thought the campaign was on track to exceed its reach goal and framed the race as a choice for compromise and collaboration rather than conflict and dysfunction.
For now, though, the math still leaves the race open. Bernadette Wilson had 29.4% of first-choice votes, Dave Bronson had 14.1%, and Treg Taylor had 7.4%. If no candidate clears 50% of first-choice votes, ranked choice tabulation will decide the winner, which means an early lead can still give way to a different final result once lower-finishing candidates are eliminated and their votes are redistributed.
The Republican field that reached the general election came through a rocky path: Wilson was sued over unpaid business and personal debts, Bronson was voted out after one term as Anchorage mayor, and Taylor was briefly kicked off the ballot for failing to disclose his financial interests as required by law. That is why the first count is only the beginning, not the finish line. Election officials will keep counting ballots until Nov. 18 and plan to certify the results on Nov. 25, with the final outcome resting on whether Kreiss-Tomkins can hold above 50% or has to survive ranked choice tabulation first.
