Rough night for local incumbents

Partisan berths for the November general election were up for grabs Tuesday night for federal and state senate and house offices.

In one of the most contentious races, that between incumbent Jim Colver and challenger George Rauscher, for House Seat 9, Rauscher held on for a 52 to 48 percent win.

Similarly another House incumbent went down to defeat in the primary, as Wes Keller was beaten by Wasilla firefighter David Eastman 46-33 percent in the race for District 10 House. Former Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard finished a strong third with 15 percent of the vote.

A pair of local House members looking to make the jump to the Senate had early, but tenuous leads Tuesday night, and for one of them, that result turned on its head.

In a tight race all night for Senate Seat D, Lynn Gattis held a very early 53-46 percentage lead over Wasilla City Council member David Wilson for Senate Seat D. Gattis didn't hold that lead for long, though, as by the time more than 50 percent of precincts had reporter, Wilson had surged to a 52 to 47 percent lead.

By the time the dust settled early Wednesday morning, Wilson had secured a five-point victory.

Wilson may not be the only one leaving a spot on the Wasilla City Council empty, as fellow council member Colleen Sullivan-Leonard won her primary battle over Brandon Montano 58-42.

For Senate Seat F, House member Shelley Hughes had an early lead over challenger Adam Crum, 50 percent to 42 percent with just over 6 percent reporting. Steve St. Clair sat in third with 8 percent in their Republican race. As the night wore on, Hughes appeared to increase her lead over Crum, going up 49-39 with 62.5 percent reporting. Ultimately, Hughes settled in to a 48-41 win over Crum with St. Clair upping his total to 10 percent.

In a local contest between two Palmer City Council members that figured to be too-close-to-call all night, had Palmer mayor DeLena Johnson with a too slight and too early lead over Palmer council member Richard Best. But by the wee hours, Johnson punched her ticket for the November ballot, winning 55 percent to 44 percent.

At the top of the ticket, Ray Metcalfe was on his way to clinching a Democratic nomination to run against Lisa Murkowski for U.S. Senate, and in the race for Alaska’s lone House of Representatives seat, Stephen Wright led a pack of three Mat-Su candidates trying to unseat longtime Congressman Don Young. With 20 percent reporting, Wright had 19 percent of the vote, in no way threatening the 71 percent Young had mustered.