Alaska Voters Face 17-Candidate Governor Primary, With 4 Advancing Under Open System
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 16
Alaska Voters Face 17-Candidate Governor Primary, With 4 Advancing Under Open System
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 16
Summary
Aug. 18 will send four of 17 gubernatorial candidates to Alaska’s November ballot, producing the state’s first open-seat governor’s race in nearly 25 years.
Alaska’s open primary and ranked-choice system puts Democrats, Republicans and independents on one ballot, helping create an unusually crowded field with no incumbent or clear successor.
The contest lands as the oil-rich but cash-poor state confronts major long-term policy choices, with some Alaskans framing them as the biggest since the Trans-Alaska Pipeline era.
The race is also competing for attention and ad space with Alaska’s high-profile Senate contest between Republican Dan Sullivan and former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola, which is drawing tens of millions of dollars.
Political observers expect both Democratic candidates — Tom Begich and Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins — to reach November, underscoring how the format is scrambling usual party assumptions in a reliably Republican state.