Incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy defeated Les Gara (D), Charlie Pierce (R), and Bill Walker (I) in the general election for governor of Alaska. The four candidates advanced from the top-four primary on Aug. 16. Dunleavy’s victory means that Alaska retains its status as a Republican triplex.
The Alaska Division of Elections released unofficial results on Nov. 23 showing Dunleavy winning 50.3% of the first-choice votes, enough to win re-election outright. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) received a majority of first-choice votes and was elected Lt. Governor.
Dunleavy was first elected in 2018, succeeding Walker, who had served as governor since 2014. The Alaska Republican Party endorsed Dunleavy and Pierce. Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Dunleavy. The Alaska Democratic Party and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates backed Gara. Walker received endorsements from several Democratic state legislators and the state AFL-CIO.
This was the first gubernatorial election in Alaska to use a top-four primary and ranked-choice voting for the general election, a system voters approved in 2020. The 2020 measure established open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and ranked-choice voting for general elections, including presidential elections. Voters could rank the four candidates that advanced from the primary and if a candidate receives a simple majority of the vote, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a simple majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. People who voted for that candidate as their first choice have their votes redistributed to their second choice.
Additional reading: