2022 Alaska Senate election explained

2022 Alaska Senate election should not be confused with 2022 United States Senate election in Alaska.

Election Name:2022 Alaska Senate elections
Country:Alaska
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2020 Alaska Senate election
Previous Year:2020
Next Election:2024 Alaska Senate election
Next Year:2024
Seats For Election:19 of 20 seats in the Alaska Senate
Majority Seats:11
Election Date:November 8, 2022
Leader1:Peter Micciche
(retired)
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Leader Since1:January 19, 2021
Leaders Seat1:O District
Last Election1:13
Seats Before1:13
Seats1:11
Seat Change1: 2
Popular Vote1:153,603
Percentage1:63.76%
Leader2:Tom Begich
(retired)
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Leader Since2:January 15, 2019
Leaders Seat2:J District
Last Election2:7
Seats Before2:7
Seats Needed2: 4
Seats2:9
Seat Change2: 2
Popular Vote2:66,358
Percentage2:27.55%
Map Size:350px
Senate President
Before Election:Peter Micciche
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Gary Stevens
After Party:Republican(Coalition)

The 2022 Alaska Senate elections took place on November 8, 2022, with the primary elections being held on August 16, 2022.[1] State senators serve four-year terms in the Alaska Senate, with half of the seats normally up for election every two years.[2] However, because most districts were greatly changed in redistricting, elections were held for 19 of the 20 seats; the only exception is District T, represented by Democrat Donny Olson, which was mostly unchanged in redistricting and thus did not have an election. Some senators were elected to serve four-year terms, while others would serve shortened two-year terms.[3]

Following the previous election in 2020, Republicans had control of the Alaska Senate, with 13 seats to Democrats' seven seats. One Democrat caucused with the Republicans, giving them a governing majority of 14 seats.

After the 2022 elections, Republicans lost two seats to Democrats, reducing their majority to 11–9. However, a coalition government was formed with eight Republicans and all nine Democrats.

Background

In 2020, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2, an initiative to implement a nonpartisan blanket top-four primary with a single, open primary where candidates from all parties are listed on the ballot and the top four vote getters advance to the general election.[4] The general election is then resolved using instant-runoff voting, where voters rank the candidates and the candidates receiving the lowest votes are eliminated one by one until one candidate has a majority. The first election using the new system was the 2022 election cycle. As of the close of candidate filing, none of the elections for the Alaska Senate had more than four candidates.

Overview

Primary elections

2022 Alaska State Senate election
Primary election – August 16, 2022
PartyVotes%CandidatesAdvancing to generalSeats contesting
Republican105,69565.01292916
Democratic47,46129.19131311
Independent5,8693.61333
Alaska Independence2,3441.44222
Veterans of Alaska1,2170.75111
Totals162,586100.004848—
Two Republicans and one Democrat withdrew before the general election.[6]

General election

2022 Alaska Senate election
General election — November 8, 2022
PartyVotes%Seats not upSeats upCandidatesBeforeAfter±
Republican154,00464.75013271311 2
Democratic68,18128.67161279 2
Independent8,2053.45——300
Alaska Independence3,0491.28——200
Veterans of Alaska2,3781.00——100
Write-ins2,0310.85———00
Total237,848100.00119452020

Summary of results

DistrictIncumbentPartyElected SenatorParty
ABert StedmanRepBert StedmanRep
BJesse KiehlDemJesse KiehlDem
CGary StevensRepGary StevensRep
DPeter MiccicheRepJesse BjorkmanRep
ERoger HollandRepCathy GiesselRep
Lora Reinbold
FJosh RevakRepJames D. KaufmanRep
GElvi Gray-JacksonDemElvi Gray-JacksonDem
HMia CostelloRepMatt ClamanDem
Natasha von Imhof
IVacantLöki TobinDem
JTom BegichDemForrest DunbarDem
KBill WielechowskiDemBill WielechowskiDem
LVacantKelly MerrickRep
MShelley HughesRep Shelley HughesRep
NDavid WilsonRep David WilsonRep
OMike ShowerRep Mike ShowerRep
PScott KawasakiDem Scott KawasakiDem
QRobert Myers Jr.Rep Robert Myers Jr.Rep
RClick BishopRep Click BishopRep
SLyman HoffmanDemLyman HoffmanDem
TDonny OlsonDemDonny OlsonDem

Retiring incumbents

Detailed results

District D

General election[13]
PartyCandidateFirst choiceRound 1Round 2
Votes%TransferVotes%TransferVotes%
Republican6,95045.8+1227,07246.6+5327,60453.6
Republican6,31141.6+206,33141.7+2636,59446.4
Independent1,76811.7+191,78711.8-1,787Eliminated
Write-in1400.9-140Eliminated
Total votes15,16915,19014,198
Blank or inactive ballots1,046+9922,038
Republican hold

District E

General election [14]
PartyCandidateFirst choiceRound 1Round 2
Votes%TransferVotes%TransferVotes%
Republican5,611 33.6+415,65233.8+2,2297,88157.0
Republican (incumbent)5,52133.1+115,53233.1+4175,94943.0
Democratic5,49032.9+285,51833.0-5,518Eliminated
Write-in580.4-58Eliminated
Total votes16,68016,70213,830
Blank or inactive ballots735+2,8723,607
Republican hold

District J

Democrat Drew Cason withdrew prior to the general election.[15]

District L

Republicans Joe Wright and Clayton Trotter withdrew prior to the general election.[16]

District N

General election[17]
PartyCandidateFirst choiceRound 1Round 2
Votes%TransferVotes%TransferVotes%
Republican (incumbent)5,13344.5+375,17044.8+9546,12458.7
Republican3,34729.0+383,38529.4+9264,31141.3
Republican2,92325.3+542,97725.8-2,977Eliminated
Write-in1411.2-141Eliminated
Total votes11,54411,53210,435
Blank or inactive ballots2,244+1,0973,341
Republican hold

District S

Aftermath

Negotiations for a governing coalition in the state senate occurred after ranked-choice votes in the state were tabulated. The bipartisan coalition was announced two days later on November 25, with eight Republicans and nine Democrats leading the new Senate majority. They stated that their top priorities would be energy costs, education, and the economy.[18] Incoming Senate President Gary Stevens also remarked that the bipartisan coalition was necessary to pass responsible budgets and respond to calls for "more moderation" by the electorate.[19]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Election Calendar . Alaska Division of Elections . Alaska Division of Elections . January 21, 2022.
  2. Web site: About the Legislative Branch . The Alaska State Legislature . The Alaska State Legislature . January 21, 2022.
  3. Web site: Alaska Redistricting Board finishes work to adopt maps; opponents say courts could toss out portions. Andrew. Kitchenman. Andrew Kitchenman, Alaska Public Media &. KTOO. Andrew. Kitchenman. November 11, 2021. KTOO.
  4. Web site: Piper. Kelsey. 2020-11-19. Alaska voters adopt ranked-choice voting in ballot initiative. 2022-02-23. Vox. en.
  5. Web site: Jacobson. Louis. The Battle for State Legislatures. May 19, 2022. May 19, 2022.
  6. News: Maguire . Sean . October 12, 2022 . 11 Alaska legislative candidates withdraw from the general election . . live . November 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221126050603/https://www.adn.com/politics/2022/09/06/11-alaska-legislative-candidates-withdraw-from-the-general-election/ . November 26, 2022.
  7. Web site: Senator Lora Reinbold Will Not Seek Reelection. Alaska Native News. May 27, 2022.
  8. Web site: Alaska general election filing deadline passes with 10 incumbents not seeking reelection. Sean. Maguire. alaskasnewssource.com.
  9. Web site: Anchorage Sen. Natasha von Imhof will not run for reelection or other office in 2022. Anchorage Daily News.
  10. Web site: Samuels. Iris. Herz. Nathaniel. Senate minority leader plans retirement as Alaska's election filing deadline arrives. Anchorage Daily News. June 9, 2022. June 2, 2022.
  11. Web site: Official Results. August 16, 2022. Alaska Division of Elections.
  12. Web site: Official Results. November 18, 2022. Alaska Division of Elections.
  13. Web site: November 30, 2022 . RCV Detailed Report General Election State of Alaska Senate District D . February 3, 2022 . Alaska Division of Elections.
  14. Web site: November 30, 2022 . RCV Detailed Report General Election State of Alaska Senate District E . February 3, 2022 . Alaska Division of Elections.
  15. Web site: 4 Alaska legislative candidates withdraw from general election. August 23, 2022. November 22, 2022. Sean. Maguire. Anchorage Daily News.
  16. Web site: Legislative primary results encouraged some Alaska House and Senate candidates to quit. James. Brooks. Alaska Beacon. September 7, 2022.
  17. Web site: November 30, 2022 . RCV Detailed Report General Election State of Alaska Senate District N . February 3, 2022 . Alaska Division of Elections.
  18. News: Sabbatini . Mark . November 25, 2022 . Bipartisan majority formed for new state Senate . . live . November 27, 2022 . https://archive.today/20221127093615/https://www.juneauempire.com/news/bipartisan-majority-formed-for-new-state-senate/ . November 27, 2022.
  19. News: Downing . Suzanne . November 25, 2022 . Senate Democrat-dominated majority announces formation, and Sen. Stevens, incoming Senate president, says he doubts they'll overturn ranked choice voting . Must Read Alaska . live . November 27, 2022 . https://archive.today/20221127093552/https://mustreadalaska.com/senate-democrat-dominated-majority-announces-formation-and-sen-stevens-incoming-senate-president-says-he-doubts-theyll-overturn-ranked-choice-voting/ . November 27, 2022.

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