Assembly member Forrest Dunbar appeared to acknowledge Thursday night that he’s unlikely to win the Anchorage mayoral runoff.
He tweeted: “Given the size of the deficit and the number of votes we believe are outstanding it appears unlikely that we will make up the difference.”
According to results posted Thursday afternoon, retired commercial pilot Dave Bronson is ahead of Dunbar by 627 votes. The margin between the two candidates has widened since Wednesday, when Bronson was up by less than 300 votes. They’re currently separated by 0.78% — above the 0.5% guideline for an automatic recount.
In his Twitter message, Dunbar thanked his supporters. He said he’ll be unreachable over the next few days while participating in National Guard activities.
RELATED: Bronson widens lead in Anchorage mayoral race
The campaign said it was likely to make an official statement Friday after the next vote count announcement.
Results will continue to be updated as the elections center processes ballots. Almost 81,000 votes have been counted so far. The final results will be certified by the Anchorage Assembly on May 25.
Kavitha George worked at Alaska Public Media from 2021 to 2024. Her coverage areas included statewide politics and climate change.
