Daily Sitka Sentinel

Dunleavy Has Lead in Governor Primary

BY ANDREW KITCHENMAN

Alaska Beacon

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy received nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival in the primary for governor, with more than half of Alaskans’ votes reported on Tuesday.

Former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and Democratic former state Rep. Les Gara were running neck and neck for second place. And Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce was leading over state Rep. Christopher Kurka as the more conservative alternative to Dunleavy in fourth place.

Other than deciding the fourth candidate in the ranked choice general election in November, the primary was essentially an opinion poll, with Dunleavy, Walker and Gara all advancing. Dunleavy said he was pleased with the early returns, in voters’ first chance to weigh in on him since he was elected. 

“We feel good about where we are, but this is only the start of the race,” he said in a statement. He’s running with former Corrections commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom as his running mate in the first Alaska election in which candidates for governor can choose the lieutenant governor candidates.

Earlier in the evening, Dunleavy said he would analyze the results thoroughly. 

“You’re talking to an old college basketball player, and you kind of look at the game tape, you take things apart, and all campaigns can improve, so we’ll take a look if we’ve got any holes anywhere and shore them up,” he said. 

It was the first primary since 1966 in which any Alaskan could vote for candidates from any party. With more than 140,000 votes counted, Gara was 757 votes ahead of Walker, with each hovering around 22% of the votes compared with Dunleavy’s 42%.

Gara said the primary “is just a pit stop on the way to November.” He said his message of “jobs, education and a woman’s right to choose” was resonating with voters. And he noted that Republican voters have traditionally turned out at a much higher rate than Democrats in Alaska primaries. His running mate, Jessica Cook, is a teacher.

Walker said Tuesday afternoon that he felt good about his campaign heading into the general election. He added that many of his voters aren’t used to voting in primaries, which under the old system were heavily partisan. He didn’t face a primary when he was elected in 2014 and ran for re-election in 2018, since independents could petition to directly join the general election ballot. Now all candidates but write-ins must enter the primary.  

“Our support is in the middle,” Walker said of him and his running mate Heidi Drygas, a former Department of Labor commissioner who is a registered Democrat. 

Both Walker and Gara said that they would be the strongest challenger to Dunleavy. Both are aiming to be preferred by more voters than the other, but also to be the second choice of those whose first preference is the other. 

Both Pierce and Kurka ran to Dunleavy’s right. With 69% of precincts reporting, Pierce was at 7% while Kurka had 4%.

Pierce said before the results were reported that his campaign had been effective. 

“We really worked hard to raise funds so we could go out and travel and meet voters,” he said, adding that he feels he succeeded in offering Alaskans an alternative. He also said his candidacy had been strengthened by his running mate, Edie Grunwald, a retired Air Force colonel.

Kurka has highlighted his social conservatism and criticized Dunleavy’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said before results were announced that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade helped focus voters on candidates’ positions on abortion. And he said that would benefit him as a consistent opponent.

“We need to put the judiciary in its proper role,” Kurka said.

Kurka expressed hope that his outreach to absentee-ballot voters would help increase his vote count. His running mate Paul Hueper is a business owner.

Votes will be counted in the primary through Aug. 31.

https://alaskabeacon.com/author/Andrew-Kitchenman/