PRELIMINARY RESULTS: 2026 Alaska Primary Election

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The polls are now closed across Alaska for the state’s 2026 primary election. Voters across the state cast ballots to choose their nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Alaska senators and representatives and a ballot measure on campaign contributions.

Under Alaska’s election system, the top four primary candidates move on to the November election, and most voters in the state are politically unaffiliated.

The Alaska Division of Elections last released updated results at 11:59 a.m. Thursday.

LINK: Full preliminary election results

Alaska Governor

The Alaska Governor race has 17 candidates running against each other to take Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s seat. 12 candidates are Republican and include former state Sens. Click Bishop, Shelley Hughes, Lesil McGuire and Edna DeVries, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, former Alaska Commissioner of Revenue Adam Crum, former state Attorney General Treg Taylor, and business owner Bernadette Wilson. The only Democrat candidates are former state Sen. Tom Begich and former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Also on the ballot are former Gov. Bill Walker, Meda DeWitt and Destry Payne Sr.

Preliminary results showed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leading with 28,406 votes (21.6%) in the primary. Trailing behind Kreiss-Tomkins are Democrat Tom Begich with 26,384 votes (20.06%), Republican Bernadette Wilson with 13,717 votes (10.43%), and Republican Dave Bronson with 11,041 votes (8.40%).

So far, 99.50% of precincts have reported results.

U.S. Senate

Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan is seeking his third term, but he faces 15 other candidates, including former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and another Dan Sullivan.

Preliminary results showed Democrat Mary Peltola leading with 63,910 votes (48.09%) in the primary. Trailing behind Peltola is incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan with 56,766 votes (42.72%), Daniel J. Sullivan with 3,235 votes (2.43%), and Democrat David Leslie with 1,502 votes (1.13%).

So far, 99.50% of the precincts have been reported.

U.S. House

Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich is seeking a second term and faces 14 other candidates on the ballot. One candidate, Matt Schultz, has dropped out of the race, though his name still appears on the ballot. Independent candidate Bill Hill is the only other active candidate who has reported any campaign fundraising.

Preliminary results showed incumbent Rep. Nick Begich leading with 60,137 votes (46.11%) in the primary. Trailing behind Begich is Bill Hill with 40,290 votes (30.89%), Matt Schultz with 10,480 votes (8.04%), and Eric Hafner with 4,965 votes (3.81%).

So far, 99.50% of precincts have reported results.

Ballot Measure #1 (Establish campaign contribution limits)

There is currently no limit on how much a voter or group can donate to a state or local campaign, despite state law saying there is. The reason those laws aren’t enforced: the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in 2021 that the limit was unconstitutionally low. The ballot measure aims to reinstall limits, and higher than what the previous law allowed.

The preliminary results show the ballot measure passing with 93,215 votes (71.28%) out of 130,768 total votes.

So far, 99.50% of precincts have reported results.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com