Tuesday’s primary election didn’t eliminate any Southeast candidates for state House or Senate.
But the results show incumbents polling stronger than their challengers in two of the region’s three competitive races.
One is Juneau’s House District 34, which includes the Mendenhall Valley and neighborhoods to the north.
Incumbent Republican Cathy Muñoz got 832 votes on the GOP ballot. Her Democratic challenger, Justin Parish, won 722 on his party’s ballot.
The other is House District 35, which includes Sitka, Petersburg, Hoonah, Pelican, Angoon and Kake.
Incumbent Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won 648 votes on his party’s ballot. Republican Challenger Sheila Finkenbinder got 627 votes from her party’s members. Both candidates live in Sitka.
The third competitive race is House District 36, which includes Ketchikan, Wrangell and southern Prince of Wales Island. But the primary election gives no indication of how the candidates stand up against each other.
Incumbent Dan Ortiz (or-TEZ) wasn’t on the ballot, because he’s an independent, with no party primary. Constitution Party candidate Kenneth Shaw wasn’t on a primary ballot either.
Republican challenger Bob Sivertsen (SEE-vert-sen) won all 859 primary votes. All three candidates live in Ketchikan.
The real battle comes Nov. 8th, when candidates face off on the same ballot during the general election.
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
