Rep. Robyn Frier, a Democrat from Utqiaġvik, leads Kotzebue Mayor Saima Chase, also a Democrat, in the race for Alaska House District 40, according to unofficial results.
With all 20 precincts in the district reporting, Frier has about 1,422 votes to Chase’s 962, according to unofficial results the Alaska Division of Elections posted Wednesday afternoon, which puts Frier just under 60 percent of the vote so far.
Because only two candidates are on the ballot and Frier is above 50%, the race would not need a ranked-choice tabulation if her lead holds. But according to the Alaska Beacon, thousands of absentee and early ballots cast statewide before Election Day remain uncounted.
The race is a rematch of 2024, when Frier, then known as Robyn Burke, unseated Rep. Thomas Baker in a three-way race that also included Chase. Frier also led the August primary this year with 61.8% of the vote.
Regional Split
The results largely followed regional lines. Frier led the nine North Slope precincts 1,045 to 230, winning more than 80% of the vote in Utqiaġvik, Browerville, Wainwright and Nuiqsut. Chase carried Kotzebue 337 to 152 and won the majority of votes in every other Northwest Arctic community.
Turnout between the two boroughs was close. The North Slope precincts cast about 1,350 ballots with a voter turnout of about 28%. That’s compared with about 1,170 votes in the Northwest Arctic, with a voter turnout of about 27%.
District 40 turnout overall is below the statewide average of about 35% percent. Shungnak had the district's highest turnout, at 40%, and Kiana the lowest, at about 17.9%. In Kotzebue, about 520 of more than 1,800 registered voters cast ballots.
Statewide races
District 40 voters’ top choices were Democrat Mary Peltola for U.S. Senate, independent Bill Hill for U.S. House and Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor. Kaktovik and Wainwright were the only Republican-leaning precincts.Voters there favored incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan,and Rep. Nick Begich, and Bernadette Wilson in the gubernatorial race.
Peltola received 1,524 first-choice votes in the district, or 61%, to 747 for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Statewide, the race is much closer: Peltola leads 102,962 to 102,325, a 637-vote margin. Neither candidate has a majority, so unless the remaining ballots push one above 50%, the race will be decided by a ranked-choice tabulation.
An Alaska Beacon analysis of the state’s early ranking data found that, based on ballots counted as of Nov. 4, Sullivan would likely gain more votes than Peltola once the two trailing candidates are eliminated.
In the U.S. House race, Hill won 1,238 of the district's 2,454 votes, edging all other candidates combined, who had 1,216. Statewide, Republican Rep. Nick Begich leads Hill, 49.5% to 40.3%.
For governor, Kreiss-Tomkins won 53% in District 40 and 338 of 514 votes in Kotzebue. Statewide, he leads with 49%, ahead of Republican Bernadette Wilson at 29%.
Ballot measures
District 40 voters rejected Ballot Measure 2, 1,548 to 799, and Kaktovik was the only precinct where a majority voted yes. The measure would repeal open primaries and ranked-choice voting, bring back party primaries and repeal campaign finance rules adopted in 2020. Statewide, it is narrowly failing, 106,040 to 98,460. A similar repeal failed by a thin margin in 2024.
Ballot Measure 3, which would add to state law that only U.S. citizens may vote, passed in the district 1,496 to 944 and leads statewide with 69.6%. Citizenship is already required to vote in Alaska, and the measure does not change who is eligible.
What's next
Results and turnout will change as more ballots are counted. Mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive through Nov. 13. The last early votes are counted by Nov. 10, and absentee and questioned ballots must be counted by Nov. 18, when any ranked-choice tabulations will be run. The state aims to certify results by Nov. 25.
