Dunbar says it’s ‘unlikely’ he will pull ahead of Bronson in race for Anchorage mayor after latest vote count

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Before heading out on National Guard duties for the next couple of days, Forrest Dunbar posted on his campaign’s Facebook page saying it’s unlikely he will pull ahead of his opponent, Dave Bronson, in the race to become Anchorage’s next mayor.

“For those who have been tracking the election results, you know that we are currently trailing my opponent,” Dunbar wrote in the Facebook post around 10 p.m. Thursday. “Given the size of the deficit and the number of votes we believe are outstanding, it appears unlikely that we will make up the difference.”

The runoff election has been close since preliminary results began to trickle in earlier this week. On Thursday, Bronson’s lead over Dunbar grew to 627 votes. With more than 81,000 ballots cast, Dunbar has so far received 40,183 votes, or 49.61%, while Bronson has garnered 40,810 votes, or 50.39%

“This has proven to be a very close race, with exceptionally high turnout – a testament both to the level of engagement among many community members and the continued success of Anchorage’s Vote By Mail system,” Dunbar continued in the Facebook post.

On Friday morning, Dunbar’s campaign team had updated the Facebook post, adding that “there are still thousands of ballots to count and the final outcome of this race is presently unknown,” after Dunbar’s comments had garnered attention on social media.

The campaign added that they are “confident” that outstanding ballots will be counted accurately and will be looking forward to updated results.

Alaska’s News Source has reached out to both campaigns for comment, but has not heard back before the time of publication.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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