Democrat wins Alaska governor’s race for the first time in nearly 30 years as Yale

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins became the latest beneficiary of the ‘blue tsunami’ from the midterm elections, becoming the first Democrat to be elected governor of Alaska since 1998. 

Kreiss-Tomkins, a Yale dropout who then became a state lawmaker, defeated three Republicans, including Bernadette Wilson who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Wilson worked as a local TV and radio host before entering politics.

His victory means Democrats will control the governor’s office in 30 states, including several they flipped after years of Republican control in places such as Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas.

At 37, Kreiss-Tomkins will become the youngest governor in state history. 

He will be replacing outgoing Republican Govenor Mike Dunleavy, who was on this position since 2018. 

The state’s last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who was in office till 2002. 

Kreiss-Tomkins was endorsed by three former governors including a Democrat, a Republican and an independent – along with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. 

The state’s US Senate race remains uncalled, with former Congresswoman Mary Peltola at 49.8 percent of the vote with 95 percent of the vote in, ahead of incumbent Dan S Sullivan with 46.1 percent. 

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (pictured) became the latest beneficiary of the ‘blue tsunami’ from the midterm elections, becoming the first Democrat to be elected governor of Alaska since 1998

Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans, including Bernadette Wilson 

Kreiss-Tomkins, often referred to as JKT, completed a political comeback three years after leaving the state House. 

He traveled throughout Alaska to build his coalition and focused on affordability, advocated for full funding of public schools and called for all oil and gas producers to pay corporate income tax.  

Kreiss-Tomkins also sought a moratorium on new data centers until state lawmakers pass regulations for their development.

He cited among other issues a state ferry system that he said has been left in shambles, with routes to many communities cut drastically.

He said Alaska had become ‘broken’ under eight years of outgoing Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy and needed a change. 

The ferry is a key mode of transportation for southeast Alaska communities not connected by roads, some of which also have limited air service.

Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, emphasized a willingness to work across party lines and said he wanted a Cabinet with Republicans, Democrats and independents.

‘If they’re competent, if they’re service-minded, if they’re entrepreneurial, if they’re problem-solvers, you’re on the team. Game on,’ he said during a candidate forum last month. ‘Let’s go, and let’s get Alaska back on track.’

The result comes as the state’s tense Senate race is still yet to be decided. 

An Alaska judge ruled Wednesday that Mary Peltola’s campaign for a list of absentee voters whose ballots have been rejected is ‘not reasonable,’ particularly given the time crunch election officials face as they continue counting ballots.  

Ballots are still being tallied in the ranked vote election, in which Peltola and two-term Republican Senator Dan Sullivan are the main contenders. Alaska´s is the only Senate race in the country that remained too early to call.

Ballots are still being tallied in the ranked vote election, in which Mary Peltola (left) and two-term Republican Senator Dan Sullivan (right) are the main contenders 

The state accepts ballots up to 15 days after general elections from overseas voters, making November 18 the final day to receive them. That date is also the Division of Elections’ target for conducting ranked vote tabulations if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the first-choice votes.

Attorneys for Peltola’s campaign last Friday sued state elections officials, seeking a list of voters whose absentee ballots have been rejected and the reasons for the rejections. They said their intent was to ensure that all qualified voters have their ballots counted.

But attorneys for the state said the information requested would violate voter privacy. They also said producing such a list from a voter database would constitute an ‘electronic service or product’ that under state law may not take priority over an agency’s main responsibilities.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews, in a written ruling, said that ‘in theory’ records from the voter database could be redacted and produced in a way that would allow their release. But he said the division is not required to disclose the records requested by the campaign because they ‘cannot reasonably be produced at this juncture, nor redacted of confidential information.’