State Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, said Tuesday that he was “99.9 percent sure” he’d ask for a recount in the race to keep his seat in the Legislature. On Wednesday, he chipped in the 0.1 percent.
Thomas filed a recount request with the state Division of Elections. It’s scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday in Juneau.
Sitka Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins currently holds a 34-vote lead in the race. And he’s received mail from the state bearing the title “Representative-Elect” on the address label. He says he’ll attend the recount in person.
Thomas said he’ll be traveling out of state when the recount happens.
The race for House District 34 has been back and forth since election night. Kreiss-Tomkins was up by 44, then down by 2, then tied with Thomas, then up by 28, before the final vote count solidified the race at a 34-vote margin.
If officially elected, Kreiss-Tomkins would become the youngest current member of the Alaska Legislature, but not the youngest ever. That title belongs to Terry Gardiner, who was elected at age 22, in 1973. He became speaker of the House at age 28.
Ed Ronco is a reporter at KCAW in Sitka.
