Mary Peltola leads Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in U.S. House race; Lisa Murkowski leads over Tshibaka; familiar names in Eagle River/Chugiak

The Aug. 16 state primary election held some surprises statewide, but in Eagle River and Chugiak some well-known names received strong support in legislative races.

Jamie Allard, Republican, outpolled challenger Roger Branson 2,457 votes to 1,791 in House District 23. Allard is a former Anchorage assembly member.

In House District 24, former legislator Dan Saddler received 2,578 votes compared with 1,207 for Sharon Jackson, another former lawmaker who was opposing Saddler. Both are Republican.

All four will appear again on the November general election ballot under Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting system.

In the Eagle River/Chugiak Senate district, Republican Kelly Merrick, a current House member seeking to move up to the Senate, gathered strong support, with 4,550 votes over Ken McCarty, also a current House member and Republican, who received 2,481. As in all legislative races both will appear again on the general election ballot in November.

Merrick’s showing was significant because she has been targeted by the Republican Party for having joined Democrats in forging a coalition organization in the state House for the two-year Legislature that ends in January.

In the statewide races, as of Wednesday morning, Aug. 17, former Bethel legislator Mary Peltola, a Democrat and Alaska Native, was holding a strong lead in primary election counts over challengers Palin and Nick Begich.

The U.S. House race for Congress was being watched nationally mainly because of Palin, a former Alaska governor and U.S. vice presidential candidate. Palin appears to have been soundly beaten by Peltola.

In the governor’s race, incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy made a strong showing with 63,178 votes received, with Les Gara, a Democrat, drawing 33,244 and former Gov. Bill Walker netting 33,063. Charlie Pierce, a conservative Republican from Kenai, drew 10,363 votes.

In the Senate race Republican Murkowski, the incumbent, maintained a narrow lead over her main challenger, Tshibaka, also Republican, with 80 percent of votes counted.

In the count as of Wednesday Murkowski received 43.7 percent of votes cast to Tshibaka’s 40.3 percent. The senator’s reelection is still uncertain because November will be a “ranked choice” election in which voters rank their favorites one through four, as compared with the primary, in which only the top choices were counted.

The Senate race numbers will change when those results are tallied in November. However, the primary lead by Murkowski is likely to grow as more rural precinct results are included, which are likely to favor Murkowski.

Tuesday’s result will also build momentum for Murkowski as the campaign heads toward November.

Meanwhile, Peltola appears to have soundly defeated her two high-profile, well-financed opponents Palin and Begich. The former Bethel lawmaker will almost certainly be declared winner to fill out Cong. Don Young’s two-year term that ends in January (Young died last March).

Peltola also led Palin, Begich and a string of others in a second election the ballot counted separately, for the full two-year congressional term in Congress, which begins in January.

That contest will be held again in the November general election with ranked-choice voting. The numbers will shift as the different choices are made but Peltola is likely to maintain her momentum, and her serving even a few weeks in Congress before November, to fill out Young’s term, will give her a shot of credibility in Alaska.

In the race to fill out the remainder of Young’s term, Peltola had 56,892 votes, or 38.3 percent, in the Wednesday morning count to Palin’s 48,304, or 32.5 percent, and Begich’s 43,038 votes, or 29 percent.

Although it was thinner because there were more people on the ballot Peltola also held the lead over Palin and Begich in the primary election for the full two-year term in Congress.

In that contest, Peltola captured 53,342, or 35 percent of votes tabulated, compared with 47,783 or 31.4 percent for Palin and 40,972, or 26.9 percent for Begich. Tara Sweeney, another Alaska Native candidate, was also on that ballot and pulled 5,427, or 3.5 percent of the votes. In November these people, the top four, will square off again in ranked choice.

The House race results are very tentative but Peltola’s lead in both races is likely to widen as rural Alaska votes are tallied.

In the Senate race Murkowski held a lead over Tshibaka with 66,288 votes, or 43.7 percent of votes cast compared with 61,225 vote or 40.3 percent of votes cast for Tshibaka. Patricia Chesbro, a Democrat on the ballot, pulled 3,386 votes or 2.2 percent of those cast.

Buzz Kelley, a Republican also in the Senate race, received 2,600 votes or 2.28 percent, on Aug. 16 and, being fourth, will appear again against Murkowski, Tshibaka and Chesbro in November.