Republican Nick Begich will have to wait until the final vote count on Nov. 20 but he looks likely to defeat incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House.
As of the latest tally on Tuesday, Nov. 12, Begich has 142,023 votes, or 49.11%, to Peltola’s 132,473, 45.81%, with the two fringe candidates collecting 14,070 votes.
It takes 50% plus one to win the election.
The Alaska Division of Elections reported on Tuesday that there were more than 32,000 mail-in absentee and in-person early-voting ballots still to count, with an updated tally coming on Friday, Nov. 15, and then the final numbers on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
If neither Begich nor Peltola exceeds 50% after all the ballots are counted, Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system would determine the winner. Voters who cast their ballots for the last-place finisher in the race will have their votes recounted for their second choice and, if needed, it would work the same for anyone who voted for the third-place finisher, eventually pitting Begich and Peltola in a one-on-one race to decide the winner.
In Wrangell, Begich easily outpolled Peltola on election night, 383-233.
Wrangell also voted heavily in favor of former president Republican Donald Trump in his wining race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, 451-200.
Statewide, Trump outpolled Harris 161,814 to 120,025 as of Tuesday’s count.
Voter turnout in Wrangell was the highest in many years, far exceeding recent presidential elections, with 343 residents casting early ballots in the two weeks before the Nov. 5 election and 701 voting on election day.
In addition to voting for president, the U.S. House and state legislative seats, Alaskans voted on two ballot propositions. The measure to repeal ranked-choice voting and go back to political party primaries and winner-take-all general elections was ahead as of Nov. 8, 142,511 to 139,670.
The final count of absentee and early ballots could change the outcome if supporters of ranked-choice voting can make up the deficit of more than 2,800 votes, but it’s not expected.
If the lead holds, Alaskans would return to the traditional pick-one voting system — no more ranked choice — with political parties setting the rules for primary elections starting with the 2026 elections.
Wrangell voted 399-252 to repeal ranked-choice voting.
Alaskans approved the other ballot measure Nov. 5, which will boost the state’s minimum wage and require employers to pay sick leave. The preliminary tally was 158,798 to 119,799.
Wrangell voted for the measure by a narrow margin, 337-310, though it failed to win a majority of votes in a couple of precincts that Wrangell shares in House District 1. Voters in the two precincts out North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan voted against the higher minimum wage, 565-512.
The ballot measure will increase the minimum wage to $13 per hour in 2025, $14 per hour in 2026, and $15 an hour in 2027, raising it in stages from the current $11.73 an hour. Increases after that would depend on inflation.
The measure also requires that most Alaska workers receive at least 40 hours of paid leave per year. Under the initiative, sick leave would start to accrue on July 1, 2025, at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours on the job.
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