Democrat Mary Peltola increased her lead over Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan Monday, when the Alaska Division of Elections updated its count in one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Senate races.
Peltola now leads by 2,517 first-choice votes. That’s up from the 637 lead she held last week, in the days following the Nov. 3 election.
She now has 48.6% of the vote. Sullivan has 47.5%.
In the U.S. House race, incumbent Republican Nick Begich is still ahead of his nearest challenger, independent Bill Hill. Begich has 49.1% to Hill’s 40.7%.
The counting continues, with more results expected Tuesday and Friday. The state still has thousands of early, absentee and questioned ballots to count.
If both leaders remain below 50% of first-choice votes, the race will be decided by ranked choice tabulation. The division won’t run that tabulation until Nov. 18.
State races and ballot measures
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins continues to hold a substantial lead in the race for governor, now with 49.6% of the vote. Republican Bernadette Wilson is his closest rival at 29%. If Kreiss-Tomkins does not receive more than 50% of the first-choice vote, the race will be determined by ranked choice tabulation.
Some legislative races remain tight. Independent Joy Beth Cottle leads Republican Harmony Tomaszewski by 43 votes in a two-way race for a Fairbanks state House seat vacated by Tomaszewski’s husband, Frank Tomaszewski, who’s in line to win a state Senate seat. In an Eagle River state House race, Republican Ken McCarty leads fellow GOP candidate Gina Wall by 16 votes.
Leaders in the state House and Senate formed largely Democratic bipartisan majority coalitions shortly after Election Day.
In another close race, a slim majority of voters continue to oppose a repeal of ranked choice voting, open primaries and campaign finance rules aimed at unmasking donors. “No” on Ballot Measure 2 leads by roughly 9,500 votes, 52% to 48%.
Monday’s update added roughly 4,900 ballots to the tally. A larger batch of results is due to be released Tuesday.
