Alaska elects 37-year-old Democrat as governor, first in more than two decades

The Associated Press has called Alaska's governor race for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, the first Democrat elected to lead the state in more than two decades. Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, won 50.8 percent of first-choice votes in the November 3 midterm election, defeating three Republican challengers; because he passed 50 percent, no ranked-choice tabulation was needed. He will take the oath of office at noon on December 7, becoming the youngest governor in Alaska's history and the youngest sitting governor in the United States.

50.8% of the vote, beating Trump's preferred candidate

According to unofficial results released by the Alaska Division of Elections on November 13, Kreiss-Tomkins won 139,293 first-choice ballots — 50.8 percent. His closest rival, Republican businesswoman Bernadette Wilson, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, took 28.7 percent. The other two Republican candidates were former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor. The AP called the race late on November 13, after more than ten days of counting; the Division of Elections plans to certify the result on November 25.

Succeeding term-limited Republican Mike Dunleavy

Kreiss-Tomkins will succeed term-limited Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, who has held the office since 2018. The last Democratic governor of Alaska was Tony Knowles, who served from 1994 to 2002; no Democrat has won the state's governorship since 1998. Kreiss-Tomkins was born in Sitka in 1989, studied at Yale College, and left without a degree to enter state politics, serving as a state representative. Independent Zac Johnson will serve as his lieutenant governor.

Democrats to hold 30 governorships

With Kreiss-Tomkins' win and other midterm results, Democrats will hold 30 governors' offices across the country, up from 24 before the election. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, but because Kreiss-Tomkins won a majority of first-choice votes, no redistribution of ballots was required. Election officials said overseas ballots could still arrive until November 18, with the final count scheduled for that date.

(File photo: the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau.)