Incumbent Republican Sen. Jesse Bjorkman appears to have fended off a conservative challenger and will return to the Alaska Senate after ranked choice tabulation pushed him to victory Wednesday evening.
Heading into tabulation, Bjorkman carried a roughly seven percentage point lead over Republican challenger Rep. Ben Carpenter in first-choice votes. But, Bjorkman still hadn’t cleared the 50% threshold needed to clinch victory. With more than 19,000 votes counted, he received about 48%.
Speaking from El Paso, Texas on Thursday, Bjorkman thanked his family, campaign volunteers and supporters for their work this election season. Reflecting on the race, he said inflation and school funding seemed to be his constituents’ biggest priorities.
“Folks thought it was really important that they keep the money that they earn and also work to improve our school systems by providing stable funding was another important piece that many people spoke to me about as well,” he said.
He says he’s excited to go back to Juneau.
“We have a lot of things on our plate, and working to make sure that our state government works best for people who work in this state is really important to me," he said.
In a written statement, Carpenter also thanked voters and his campaign volunteers. He said it was encouraging to know his message resonated with so many people.
“It’s now time to press on with the next stage of our self-government process by influencing our elected representatives to obtain the best policies for Alaskans," he wrote. "We are admonished to never grow weary in well-doing and to trust in God’s plan. That is what I intend to do.”
The lowest vote-getter in the Senate District D race was Democrat Tina Wegener, who received just over 11% of votes. Through tabulation, she was eliminated from the race. Then, the second-choice votes of people who ranked her as their first-choice candidate were redistributed.
After Wegener was eliminated, Bjorkman picked up 544 votes, while Carpenter picked up 249. That bumped Bjorkman’s proportion of votes received to 54.71%, making him the unofficial winner.
The other race that was unsettled coming into Wednesday’s tabulation was a contest for a state House seat representing the southern Kenai Peninsula. In that race, Republican Rep. Sarah Vance appears to have won reelection over independent challenger Brent Johnson after tabulation. Just three percentage points separated Vance and Johnson in the first-choice tally. Leading up to Wednesday, Republican candidate Dawson Slaughter was the race’s lowest vote-getter after receiving roughly 10 percent of the more than 11,000 votes cast.
After Slaughter was eliminated, Vance picked up 275 votes, while Johnson picked up 185 votes. That pushed Vances share of votes to 52.25%, making her the unofficial winner.
Ranked choice tabulation didn’t impact the outcomes for the two State House districts covering the northern peninsula. Incumbent Republican Rep. Justin Ruffridge appears to have won the race for the seat covering Kenai and Soldotna with more than 50% of the first-choice votes.
Similarly, newcomer Bill Elam triumphed in the race for an open seat representing House District 8 after receiving more than 51% of first-choice votes. That district covers the northern Kenai Peninsula excluding Kenai and Soldotna.
Because Elam currently serves on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, his election to the Legislature will create a vacancy on the body. In that case, eligible residents of the Sterling/Funny River district Elam currently represents can apply to take over his term until the borough’s next regular election.
Wednesday’s tabulation came a little over two weeks after Election Day. Between Nov. 5 and Wednesday, the division added tens of thousands more votes to state races. Though absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, state law allows them to be received as late as 15 days after the election if mailed from U.S. citizens living abroad.
The election results remain unofficial until they’re certified by the Division of Elections. That’s scheduled for November 30.
