Under a voter-approved election process used for the first time in Alaska elections this year, party primaries have been replaced by open primaries in which the top four vote-getters in each race advance to the general election. Ranked voting will be used in the general election. Murkowski and Tshibaka, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won two of the seats in the Senate race with results still being tallied. The other two positions have yet to be decided. In the House primary, Palin, Republican Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Peltola advanced to the November election. The final slot was also yet to be determined. The winner of the November race will be elected to a two-year term. Peltola, Begic and Palin were also seeking a special election to serve out the remainder of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young’s term, which ends early next year. Young died in March. The special election and primary races were on opposite sides of Tuesday’s ballot. The winner of the special ranking election may not be known until the end of the month. In the Alaska governor’s race, Republican Mike Dunleavy, Democrat Les Gara and independent Bill Walker advanced to the November general election. Other candidates in the race include Republican state Rep. Christopher Kurka and Charlie Pierce, a Republican mayor.
