The Alaska Division of Elections released further results late Tuesday night that solidified a win in at least one Interior race and furthered leads for other candidates.
The unofficial results, which were released at 9:48 p.m. Tuesday, show Alaska Senate candidate Mike Cronk leading his opponent in Senate District R, Savannah Fletcher, by more than 1,800 votes.
Fletcher, an undeclared candidate who had significant support from Democrat groups in Alaska, conceded the race to Cronk, a Republican, in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“Thank you so much to everyone who voted, volunteered, and supported our campaign. It’s clear from the results that we did not get the outcome we were hoping for,” Fletcher wrote. “Our community faces some big challenges, and I sincerely wish Mike Cronk the best in addressing them; and I will continue to work for a better future for the Interior.”
Cronk, a former teacher who previously served in state House District 36, secured 52% of the vote so far to Fletcher’s 41.7%. Alaska Independence Party candidate Bert Williams received 6.3%.
The number of outstanding ballots is unlikely to bring Cronk’s share of votes to below 50%, making ranked-choice tabulation unnecessary.
The state is still inching along in its ballot-counting process. Earlier on Wednesday, the Anchorage Daily News reported that the elections division still has more than 30,000 uncounted ballots after Tuesday’s numbers were released.
In Senate District P, incumbent Democrat Scott Kawasaki’s lead over Republican challenger Leslie Hajdukovich grew from a mere 140 votes on Election Night to 351 after Tuesday’s count.
However, with outstanding ballots, either candidate could still win. More results are expected from the division on Friday.
Incumbent Democrat Maxine Dibert is declaring victory in HD 31 with 54.4% of the vote compared to former state lawmaker Bart LeBon’s 45.6%.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by your trust in re-electing me to continue serving in the Legislature.” Dibert said in a newsletter on Wednesday. “My commitment is to represent everyone in District 31 — no matter how you voted. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve and to be a voice for you.”
Incumbent state House Republicans Will Stapp (HD 32) and Frank Tomasewski (HD 34) will also likely win reelection after Tuesday’s results. Both Interior candidates secured over 55% of the vote against their respective opponents.
For HD 35, incumbent Democrat Ashely Carrick is leading Republican Ruben McNeill by just under 1,000 votes. The remaining ballots are not likely to change the winner of the HD 35 race.
In a Wednesday Facebook post, McNeill acknowledged his defeat and congratulated Carrick.
In HD 36, the race could come down to ranked-choice tabulation, with none of the three candidates securing a simple majority of the vote.
Republican Rebecca Schwanke is leading with 35.9% of the vote. Democrat Brandon Kowalski and Republican Pamela Goode are trailing with 33% and 25.7%, respectively.
Ranked-choice tabulation is set to take place on Nov. 20.
Who will represent Alaska in the U.S. House of Representatives will also likely come down to tabulation. After Tuesday’s results, Republican Nick Begich is leading incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola by 9,500 votes, or about a 3% margin.
Contact Carter DeJong at 907-459-7545 or cdejong@newsminer.com.
