Senator Lyman Hoffman to Caucus with Majority
Y-K Delta Senator Lyman Hoffman will be caucusing with the Majority Caucus. The group met Wednesday in Anchorage to organize and name leadership. Hoffman is the first Democrat to join this version of the 15-person body. He says he’s had positive experiences working with members on gasline legislation.
U.S. Senate, Gubernatorial Races Remain Undecided
Two days after the election, both Alaska’s senate race and its gubernatorial race remain undecided, and both incumbents are lagging behind their challengers. Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is down by 8,000 votes in his race against Republican Dan Sullivan, while Republican Gov. Sean Parnell trails unaffiliated candidate Bill Walker by 3,000 votes. Neither candidate plans to concede at this point, and at least 20,000 votes still need to be counted next week. APRN’s Alexandra Gutierrez ran the numbers on both of those races, and joins us to talk about the trends she’s seeing.
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State Senate Majority Names New Leader
The Republican Senate Majority has named a new president. Sen. Kevin Meyer of Anchorage will be taking the reins from Wasilla’s Charlie Huggins. Huggins will take the position of rules chair.
Sullivan Leads Begich by 8,000 votes
Alaska appears to have followed the national trend and elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate. But Democratic Sen. Mark Begich isn’t conceding just yet.
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Knowns and Unknowns Among Uncounted Ballots
With a few candidates up and down the ballot unsure whether they won or lost, a lot of Alaskans are looking to the thousands of ballots that remain uncounted. Division of Elections chief Gail Fenumiai says it's unclear exactly how many ballots are outstanding.
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Alaskan Voters Opt To Legalize Marijuana
Voters approved ballot measure two last night. The measure makes legal the production, sale and use of marijuana for Alaskans over 21 years old. Washington DC and Oregon approved similar measures.
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Faced With Min. Wage Hike, Seafood Plants See Room to Cut
Alaska's minimum wage initiative flew mostly under the radar this fall, overshadowed by high-profile Congressional races. But ballot measure three proposes a big change to state's minimum wage structure -- increasing it by two dollars over the next two years, to $9.75 an hour. After that, it would be adjusted for inflation. In Unalaska, at least 83 percent of voters supported that plan. The seafood industry -- which is the biggest source of minimum wage jobs in Unalaska -- didn't expect anything less.
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Anchorage Voters Repeal AO-37, Return Many Incumbents
Anchorage voters repealed AO-37, the controversial labor law, during Tuesday's election. They returned many incumbents and also sent some new Republicans to the state legislature as well.
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House 36 Race Remains Too Close To Call
The House District 36 race remains too close to call after Tuesday’s general election. With all 10 precincts reporting to the Alaska Division of Elections, Dan Ortiz, who is not affiliated with any party, has a 19-vote lead. He holds 50.03 percent of the vote, compared to 49.66 percent for Republican Chere Klein.
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Analysis: Juneau voters break for Democrats, back initiatives
Juneau voters went against the national and statewide Republican trend Tuesday, backing Democratic candidates for Alaska’s Congressional seats. They also supported the three initiatives on the general election ballot by wide margins.
Y-K Voters Weigh In on Senate, Governor, and Marijuana Legalization
Republican Dan Sullivan appears to be Alaska’s next US Senator. The former Attorney General and Natural Resources Commissioner was up 8-thousand votes with all precincts reporting. The Kuskokwim Delta, however, came out for the Democrat Mark Begich, with 70 percent Bethel voters supporting Begich to Sullivan’s 25 percent.
Kreiss-Tomkins Reelected By Wide Margin
The first time Sitka Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins ran for State House, in 2012 at the tender age of 23, he squeaked through, beating Haines Republican Bill Thomas by just 32 votes. The candidates had to wait weeks for the final results. Not this time. On Tuesday night, Kreiss-Tomkins, now 25, won convincingly.
Juneau Lawmakers Egan, Muñoz and Kito Re-elected To Legislature
All three of the capital city’s state lawmakers handily won re-election Tuesday. Sen. Dennis Egan and Reps. Cathy Muñoz and Sam Kito III all got at least 60 percent of the votes counted in their respective races on Election Day.
Unofficial Election Returns Point to Marijuana Legalization
Although absentee and questioned ballots yet to be counted could change the outcome, it is likely that Proposition 2, which legalizes recreational marijuana use in Alaska, has gained voter approval.
Valley Republicans Going Back to Juneau
There were no surprises in the returns of the Mat Su races after Tuesday's vote count was tallied.
Parnell, Walker Race Hangs By A Hair
Alaska's governor's race is too close to call at this hour.
Republicans Sweep Peninsula Elections
Republicans win all four House seats and both Senate seats on the Kenai Peninsula in the 2014 Alaska General Election. Chenault, Olson, Seaton, Micciche, and Stevens keep their seats. Stutes wins House District 32. These results are unofficial.
Southeast Voters Return 4 Incumbents To Office, 1 Race Too Close To Call
Southeast Alaska voters on Tuesday returned four incumbents to the state Legislature, but the fifth race is far too close to call.
General Election Ballot Measures
With 65 percent of the precincts reporting in, all three statewide ballot measures are passing.
Bill Walker Holds Narrow Lead Over Sean Parnell In Gubernatorial Race
With just 289 precincts reporting in so far, gubernatorial challenger Bill Walker holds a narrow lead over Governor Sean Parnell.