Muristek
By KIM JARRETT
THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is besting her Trump-backed opponent in a bid to hold on to her seat, according to figures released on Wednesday afternoon by the Alaska Division of Elections.
Ms. Murkowski received 44.1% of first-place votes in Alaska’s first major test of ranked-choice voting. Her opponent, government administrator Kelly Tshibaka, has received 39.2% of first-place votes. Both will be on the Nov. 8 ballot, with two other candidates yet to be determined. Eighteen candidates signed up to challenge Ms. Murkowski.
With ranked-choice voting, the top four vote getters in any race advance to the next level regardless of political party.
In the race to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young, Democrat Mary Peltola leads her two Republican challengers with 38% of the first-place votes. Former Gov. Sarah Palin has just short of 32% of the first-place votes, with Nick Begich holding 27%.
The winner will serve out the final few months of Rep. Young’s term.
In the race for a full two-year term in Congress, Ms. Peltola also leads with 35.2% of first-place votes to Ms. Palin’s 31% and Mr. Begich’s 27%. The top four advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy leads his competitors with 41.8% of the first-place votes. Former Gov. Bill Walker, who is running as an independent, has 22.1% of the first-place votes, while Democrat Les Gara has nearly 22%.
In November, a candidate will need a simple majority to win. If no candidate receives a simple majority, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated, and voters who selected the eliminated candidate as their first choice have their votes redistributed to their second choices.
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