Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins Alaska governor race, first Democrat elected since 1998

A count that ran for more than a week

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won the Alaska governor's race in the 3 November election, defeating three Republicans in an all-party contest. The Associated Press called the race after more than a week of counting, which included mail ballots and votes from remote parts of the state. Alaska's ranked-choice system requires a majority, and he crossed the 50 percent threshold late on Thursday, 12 November, with 88 percent of the vote counted. The Republicans he faced were Bernadette Wilson, a Trump-backed business owner, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, will be the youngest governor in state history.

A platform built on bipartisan appeal

He campaigned on affordability, full funding for public schools and a requirement that all oil and gas producers pay corporate income tax. He also called for a moratorium on new data centers until state lawmakers pass rules for their development. He cited a state ferry system that he said had been left in shambles, with routes to many communities cut drastically, as a key failure of the outgoing administration. Kreiss-Tomkins said he wanted a Cabinet with Republicans, Democrats and independents. Three former governors, Democrat Tony Knowles, independent Bill Walker and Republican Frank Murkowski, endorsed him along with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has at times been at odds with her party.

Reaction and endorsements

In a statement issued on Friday, 13 November, Kreiss-Tomkins said his campaign had 10,100 donors and that voters wanted change. Lisa Murkowski had endorsed him a week before the election, and she said of him:

“understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.”

In the same statement, Kreiss-Tomkins said Alaskans voted for change.

“Alaskans voted for change and for a government that works across party lines to move Alaska forward.”

Ranked-choice voting survives a repeal attempt

On the same 3 November ballot, voters rejected a measure to repeal the state's open primaries and ranked-choice voting in general elections. It was the second time in two years that voters turned down such an attempt, and the measure would also have repealed some campaign disclosure rules. Under the open primary, the top four vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party. Opponents, including President Donald Trump, call the system confusing, and Elon Musk was among the donors backing the repeal effort. Supporters say it gives voters more choices and has had a moderating effect on a Legislature that has been governed by bipartisan coalitions in recent years.

A wider Democratic gain

Kreiss-Tomkins's win is part of a midterm wave that gave Democrats sweeping wins in state governments. Democrats will hold 30 governors' offices across the country, up from the 24 cited by NPR, and several of those seats were flipped after years of Republican control in places such as Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. Democrats had long been favored in Alaska, given Dunleavy's low approval rating and a difficult environment for Republicans.

Baseline cited by NPR24

After 2026 midterms30

Baseline cited by NPR

24

After 2026 midterms

30

Data from the article text

What comes next

Kreiss-Tomkins takes office at noon on 7 December. He inherits a state where rising costs and relatively flat state funding have forced schools to close and class sizes to rise. Food, fuel and housing costs have risen sharply, and a looming shortage of easily accessible natural gas near population centers threatens to push prices higher. The ferry system, which serves southeast Alaska communities not connected by roads, is an early test for his administration. Under Alaska's system, the legislature must reach a three-quarters vote to override budgetary vetoes.