The toll in Alaska's 2026 jungle primary has been taken, and if I could summarize the results in one sentence, that sentence would be "Alaska Republicans, it's time to get serious."
Some of the results were a bit surprising; others, not so much. In the races for Governor, the Senate, and our at-large House of Representatives seat, the top four candidates (regardless of party) in each primary vote will move on to November's ranked-choice voting (RCV) election. There will be another recall petition for RCV on that ballot as well, but for the 2026 general election, we're stuck with it.
Here's how the primary votes stand as of this writing. For the full results of Tuesday's primaries nationwide, see Susie Moore's live election results story here. The results here are from Decision Desk HQ.
Senate: Mary Peltola chalked up an eye-opening 48.04 percent of the vote to incumbent Dan Sullivan's 42.84 percent. The other Dan Sullivan, perhaps by design, nailed 2.44 percent. The remaining contender in the top four was Democrat David Leslie, with only a tad over one percent of the vote. The raw numbers:
- Mary Peltola: 63.364
- Dan Sullivan: 56,510
- (The other) Dan Sullivan: 3,222
- David Leslie: 1,491
These are the four that will move to the November RCV ballot, and RCV aside, this looks a lot like a contest between the incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, and we might remember that Peltola has won two state-wide races; she knows how to play the game and national Democrats will pull out the stops and wire the valves shut to help her win this seat. Dan Sullivan has his work cut out for him.
Governor: The Democrats put in what looks on the surface like a really strong showing here, but it may be misleading. Two Democrats are leading the pack, with Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins at 21.67 percent of the vote and Tom Begich at 20.05 percent. Republican Bernadette Wilson came in third with 10.47 percent, and Republican Dave Bronson rounds out the RCV ballot with 8.42 percent. The raw numbers:
- Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins: 28,300
- Tom Begich: 26,179
- Bernadette Wilson: 13,670
- Dave Bronson: 11,000
Now, there's the thing: The Alaska GOP had 12 candidates on the primary ballot compared to the Democrats' two. That could be an advantage for Bernadette Wilson; note that the two Democrats combined only managed 41 percent of the vote. The smart play here would be for Dave Bronson to drop out and get behind Bernadette Wilson, who has been crisscrossing the Great Land like mad talking to voters, and we can expect her to pick up the pace. Maybe we can get Ms. Wilson over the 50 percent in that first vote.
House of Representatives: This is the bright spot for Alaska Republicans. Nick Begich III, the incumbent in Alaska's at-large seat, has a commanding lead with 46.15 percent of the vote tallied, followed by independent Bill Hill at 30.95 percent, and Democrats Matt Schultz at 8.06 percent and Eric Hafner at 3.80 percent. These four will move on to the RCV ballot. The raw numbers:
- Nick Begich III: 59,750
- Bill Hill: 40,076
- Matt Schultz: 10,435
- Eric Hafner: 4,924
Here's the onion: Turnout, to put it bluntly, sucked, with only 132,746 ballots counted as of this writing, out of 601,906 registered voters. We should note that Democrats, riddled with Trump Derangement Syndrome, are likely motivated to a fare-thee-well to get out and vote. That may account for some of the numbers we're seeing in the Senate and Governor's races. But it would be dangerous indeed for Alaska Republicans to count on a miraculously improved turnout in November. And that's what the AK GOP needs: Turnout. Because in this primary, we didn't see it. We have to do better.
So, to the Alaska Republican Party, I can only say this: It's time to spit on your hands and get to work. It's a long way to November, and you need to take advantage of every hour of every day.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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