Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins Alaska gubernatorial race: NPR

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, won Alaska’s gubernatorial race and will replace the incumbent Republican. Here he is seen at a polling place at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Election Day.

Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media

hide caption

toggle caption
I

Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative from the small island community of Sitka, won Alaska’s gubernatorial race, according to a calling the race by The Associated Press. At 37, he will be the youngest governor in state history.

Kreiss-Tomkins will replace outgoing Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a term-limited Republican who has served as governor since 2018. The state’s last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who left office in 2002.

Kreiss-Tomkins, known by his initials JKT, has made his “energetic, bipartisan, problem-solving approach” a centerpiece of his campaign.

He has said he plans to build an administration made up of Democrats, Republicans and independents and described himself during a debate as a “man in the middle.” He was supported by three former governors – a Democrat, a Republican and an independent – ​​as well as Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Alaskans are tired of zero-sum partisan politics, he said in an interview just before voting in an Anchorage precinct on Election Day.

“I firmly believe that people just want things to work and work together,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.

The call for the PA race came after more than a week of counting votes, including those arriving by mail and from remote parts of the state. In the ranked-choice system used by the state, he faced three Republican candidates, including one supported by President Trump. To win, you must obtain a majority of votes.

Voters also faced a question on the ballot: whether to abandon this unique system of preferential choice. That proposal failed, according to another AP race call, keeping the system in place.

With the victory of Kreiss-Tomkins and others in the midterms, Democrats will hold 30 governorships across the country, up from 24 currently.

Kreiss-Tomkins will take office in a state where voters are loudly complaining that things aren’t working the way they should.

Rising costs and relatively stable state funding have forced schools to close and increase class sizes. The already high costs of food, fuel and housing have risen sharply, and the looming shortage of easily available natural gas near the state’s population centers threatens to drive up prices. And Alaskans have been migrating out of state for more than a decade.