Alaska voters will select new member of Congress next Tuesday

Alaska voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to mark their ballots in a couple of firsts: The first election under the state’s new ranked-choice voting system, and the election of Alaska’s first new member of the U.S. House in 49 years.

The three finalists for Congress selected in the July special primary election are Republicans Nick Begich, a Chugiak businessman, and former Gov. Sarah Palin, and former Bethel state legislator Democrat Mary Peltola.

At a recent candidate forum in Juneau, Begich noted that Alaska is the second most federally dependent state in the U.S., and the rising threat of federal deficit spending is his top concern.

Palin, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, said at the same forum, “All we have to do is turn on the spigot in Alaska” to resolve any economic woes by “developing our God-given resources.”

Peltola agreed with the other candidates that inflation is a top concern for the nation, while voicing her support for legislation in Congress that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, penalize pharmaceutical companies for increasing prices faster than inflation, and impose a 15% minimum tax on certain corporations.

The state is conducting a special election Tuesday to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died in March in his 49th year in Congress. The winner will serve until January, when the winner of the regular election in November will take over for a full two-year term.

Early voting is open. Voters may cast their ballots between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 15 at City Hall assembly chambers. Voters can vote early for any reason, including convenience or personal preference.

On election day Tuesday, Aug. 16, polling places will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Nolan Center.

The special election will be on one side of the paper ballot, giving voters the option of — but not requiring —ranking the three candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of votes when the first-choice options are counted, the third-place finisher will be eliminated and those ballots will be recounted for the voter’s second choice. Of the remaining two candidates, the one with the most votes wins.

Alaskans in 2020 approved a citizen’s initiative for the ranked-choice system, which also did away with political party primaries. All candidates run against each other in a single primary, with the top finishers — up to four — advancing to the general election.

The other side of next week’s statewide ballot will be the regular primary election for governor and lieutenant governor, Legislature, U.S. Senate and House. Voters can choose only one candidate in each primary race.

In the state House race for the district that includes Wrangell, incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz, of Ketchikan, is running against Jeremy Bynum, of Ketchikan. Bynum is a registered Republican; Ortiz an independent. Both will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

Wrangell non-partisan candidate Shevaun Meggitt had filed but later decided not to run, citing personal reasons. Her name, however, will be on the primary ballot. Meggitt said she is backing Bynum, agreeing with his position of a smaller state government.

Bynum has served two years on the Ketchikan Gateway Borough assembly and works as an acting division director at Ketchikan Public Utilities. He wants to see the state do more to help ease the housing shortage in the district, including grants to extends roads and utilities to developable land. “We definitely have a housing problem.”

He also wants to look at easing some state regulations for child care providers, hoping it will lead to more openings.

Ortiz, who has served in the House since 2015, wants to return to the Legislature “to help guide our Southeast economy to a complete recovery from the COVID years.” He said he would look for what the state could do to boost the tourism and fishing industries and bring back some timber jobs.

Ortiz also said the state ferry system needs more attention after years of decline and service cutbacks. “We’ve got to get that Columbia up and running,” he said of the flagship vessel that has not operated since 2019.

Same as the state House district, there are just two candidates for the Senate district that represents Wrangell, and both will advance from Tuesday’s primary to the November general election.

Incumbent Republican Bert Stedman, of Sitka, has been in the Legislature since 2003 and currently serves as co-chair of the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee. The state’s biggest issue is its revenue stream and balancing that with paying a healthy Permanent Fund dividend each year. Stedman has been a strong advocate of not overspending for an unaffordable, oversize dividend.

Repairing past damage to the ferry system is his top priority for the district. That includes hiring new crew, keeping the ships in service and bringing back schedules to levels sufficient to meet community needs.

His challenger, Republican Mike Sheldon, of Petersburg, supports paying a full dividend based on the 1982 formula which lawmakers have dropped in recent years as the state ran short of money. He also wants to reduce state regulations that hurt businesses, though he offered no examples in an interview last week. “I’ve got to look in the books.”

The primary ballot will include the governor’s race, with incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy facing former Gov. Bill Walker, who lost to Dunleavy in 2018. The other candidates include former Anchorage Democratic legislator Les Gara, and seven other Republican, Libertarian, Alaskan Independence Party and undeclared candidates. The top four will advance to November.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces a reelection challenge from Republican and former Dunleavy administration official Kelley Tshibaka and 17 other candidates in the Senate primary. Tshibaka, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, is running her campaign focused on claims that Murkowski is not conservative enough.

Mark Sabbatini of the Juneau Empire contributed to this report.