U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, a Republican running for re-election, waves to a passing motorists on Aug. 18, 2026. Next to him is Julie Sullivan, the wife of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, another Republican running for re-election. Supporters of both incumbents were holding signs at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway in Midtown Anchorage. Tom Begich, a Democrat and Nick Begich’s uncle, is running for governor and was rallying that morning at the same intersection, but on the other side of the street. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
This article is developing and will be updated.
Early vote counting in Alaska’s statewide, top-four primary election showed no surprises in the state’s two federal races.
For U.S. Senate, Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola led a 16-candidate field with 324 of 403 precincts reporting results as of 12 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Peltola had 47.8% of the votes counted to that point, while Sullivan had 43.3%. Republican challenger Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg was in third with 2.5%, and Democratic candidate David Leslie was in fourth with 1.1%, only slightly ahead of Republican Gerald Heikes.
In the U.S. House race, which had 15 candidates, incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III had 46.2% of the votes counted by 12 a.m., while independent challenger Bill Hill had 31.1%. Democrat Matt Schultz, who suspended his campaign in July to back Hill, had 8.1%, and federal inmate Eric Hafner, a Democratic candidate, had 3.8%.
National Democrats have focused on Alaska’s federal races as they attempt to win control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. National Republicans are also spending heavily to defend the incumbents. Control of the House and Senate depend on a relative handful of seats nationally, and Alaska’s delegation could be a decisive factor.
Vote-counting is expected to continue through Aug. 28, the deadline for mailed absentee ballots to reach the Alaska Division of Elections.
Candidates who finish in the top four may also withdraw from the election until Aug. 31. If a candidate withdraws, their position is taken by the fifth-place finisher. If two candidates withdraw, the sixth-place finisher is also promoted.
While Peltola and Begich appeared to be on course to win the most primary-election votes, primary success doesn’t always mean success in the November general election.
Two years ago, then-incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola earned almost 51% of the vote during that year’s pick-one primary, outpacing all Republican candidates combined. In the general election, the result flipped and Begich III defeated Peltola.
After the polls closed Tuesday night, Sullivan joined supporters at a campaign event at the Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage. He expressed gratitude for the support and touted his record in the Senate.
He pointed to shepherding federal funds to Alaska for the U.S. Coast Guard, military, and oil and gas development in the North Slope, as well as supporting tax cuts enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, talks to staffers on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, at the intersection of the Seward Highway and Northern Lights Boulevard. The Midtown Anchorage intersection is a favored spot for candidate sign-waving, and Sullivan, who is running for re-election, was there with U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, also running for re-election. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“I am proud of my record as your U.S. Senator,” he said. “When I ran in 2014, I talked about getting big things done, historic things done, for our state, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
While Sullivan did not mention President Donald Trump by name, he praised the success of Republican policies.
“D.C. Democrats don’t have an agenda or a vision for Alaska. They have a target on Alaska, and we’re not going to let them do it,” he said.
Sullivan criticized campaign spending from outside of Alaska to support his main challenger, Peltola.
“My opponent, the Democrat, she’s got unlimited money from Lower 48 billionaires and millionaires, and, you know, who the hell ever,” he said. “We don’t have that money, right? But we got you, and we’re going to win the general election with you.”
Across town, Peltola supporters gathered at a campaign event at a downtown Anchorage brewery, where she arrived just after 9 p.m. to applause from the crowd. She began by acknowledging she worked well with her opponent, Sullivan, when she served as Alaska’s sole U.S. House Representative, but said he was no longer working for Alaskans.
Mary Peltola speaks to a crowd of supporters at a primary election night event in downtown Anchorage on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
She cited his support of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which fired federal employees, and his votes to defund public media and support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will cut nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid over the next decade.
“We have tens of thousands of Alaskans who can no longer afford health insurance, and we are getting crushed by corporate greed,” she said. “Dan Sullivan, every single vote, votes along with corporate greed. He is there for every fat cat in the nation.”
Peltola criticized the overrepresentation of millionaires and billionaires in Congress. “Half of Congress does not reflect their electorate. This has to change. We’ve got to get working people, regular people, in worrying about regular people,” she said.
She thanked her supporters and some 10,000 volunteers for her campaign and said the focus now is on the general election.
“I am so glad that the primary is now behind us. It’s a real campaign now. We are really in this,” she said. “There’s still 77 days left till November 3, and we are now in 5th gear overdrive.”
Gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins hoists a campaign sign on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, Alaska’s primary election day. Kreiss-Tomkins and his supporters spent part of the morning at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive in West Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
This article is developing and will be updated.
Democratic governor candidates Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Tom Begich, and Republican candidates Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson led in early vote counting for Alaska’s Tuesday primary election for governor.
Seventeen people, including two Democrats, 12 Republicans and three independents, are seeking to replace Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited and unable to run again this year.
As of 12 a.m. Wednesday, with 324 of 402 precincts reporting results from election day, Kreiss-Tomkins had 21.8% of the vote, Begich had 20%, Wilson had 10.6% and Bronson had 8.5%.
The first candidate outside the top four was Republican Treg Taylor, with 7.5%, followed by Republican Click Bishop, with 7%.
Ballot-counting is expected to continue through Aug. 28, the deadline for mailed absentee ballots to reach the Alaska Division of Elections.
Candidates who finish in the top four have until Aug. 31 to decide whether they will remain in the race or withdraw. In 2022 and 2024, several high-finishing candidates have withdrawn from statewide races in order to consolidate party support, and the leading governor candidates have said that they are considering their options.
Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, would be the youngest governor in Alaska history if elected in November and has campaigned as a progressive Democrat.
“Today, Alaskans took the first huge step in choosing a new direction for our state,” he said in a written statement Tuesday night.
Begich, a former state senator, has likewise run as a progressive Democrat. He is the son of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, brother of former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and the uncle of current Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III.
Wilson, a businesswoman from Anchorage, has been active in statewide Republican politics for decades but never before as a candidate. An opponent of the state’s existing open-primary/ranked-choice general election system, she has offered a platform similar to that of incumbent Gov. Dunleavy.
Bronson is a former mayor of Anchorage whose sole term was marred by repeated controversies and scandals before he was voted out of office. He has likewise offered a platform similar to Dunleavy.
While the two Democratic candidates are almost certain to finish with the highest vote tally in the primary, success in the primary doesn’t always signify a win in November.
Two years ago, incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola earned almost 51% of the vote during that year’s pick-one primary for U.S. House, outpacing all Republican candidates combined. In the general election, the result flipped and Republican challenger Nick Begich III defeated Peltola.
On Tuesday, the combined vote total of Begich and Kreiss-Tomkins appeared on track to be less than 50% of all votes cast.
Voter turnout appeared to be high; with only 60% of precincts reporting results, participation was already above the 2024 primary and inching toward the near-record turnout of 2022, when the primary coincided with a special election to fill out the term of U.S. Rep. Don Young, who had died in the spring.
As of Tuesday morning, voters had returned only 47% of the 21,266 absentee ballots that were sent out, indicating that thousands more ballots are likely to be added to the tally in coming days.
In the 2024 primary, 86% of absentee ballots were returned, and in the 2022 primary, almost 98% were returned.
Ahead of the election, President Donald Trump had sought to ban states from counting absentee ballots received after election day.
In addition to the absentee ballots, there were 25,407 early votes, cast in person at 10 locations on the Railbelt, in Juneau and in Nome, between Aug. 3 and Aug. 17.
Only early votes cast through Aug. 13 were included in the election day count; ballots cast during the final five days of early voting are sequestered by the division to prevent double voting.
While the number of Alaskans casting ballots at early voting centers set a primary-election record, most votes this year came on election day, at more than 400 polling places spread across the state.
Voters walk across the map of Alaska on the floor of the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
At least two polling stations in rural Alaska opened late for the Tuesday statewide primary election, the Alaska Division of Elections confirmed late Tuesday, and observers independently reported other sites also opened late.
The problem was most acute in the southwestern village of Nunapitchuk, where bad weather grounded flights and kept elections workers from opening a polling place until 5 p.m. That gave local voters only three hours to vote before the scheduled 8 p.m. close.
Nunapitchuk has 343 registered voters, mostly independents.
In the North Slope village of Point Lay, polls opened at 8 a.m., one hour later than scheduled.
Late Tuesday, she said polls in the North Slope village of Wainwright didn’t open until 4 p.m. due to staffing issues, and Anaktuvuk Pass in the central Brooks Range had similar problems, with the city mayor temporarily stepping in.
The Division of Elections did not respond to a question seeking to verify Sparck’s report.
The groups issued a public letter saying they were “deeply concerned by reports of significant vacancies among election workers in rural Alaska precincts, as well as reports that some election workers have waited for months to receive per diem following required election training.”
The letter called for the Division of Elections to take additional steps to ensure that rural polling locations were open on time before the primary.
Earlier this year, the Alaska Legislature passed a bipartisan, bicameral election reform bill that would have mandated some actions to improve rural voting access.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed that bill, and the Legislature failed to override the veto after two Republicans from Southeast Alaska reversed themselves and voted to sustain the veto after voting to pass the bill.
Even with late openings in places across the state, the Division of Elections appeared to perform better in rural Alaska than it did in the 2024 and 2022 primaries.
Two years ago, polling stations failed to open at all in Wales and Kaktovik for the primary election, and polling places in several other locations failed to open on time.
In 2022, polling places in the southwest villages of Tununak and Atmautluak failed to open for the primary election, and a lack of poll workers meant two other communities could only vote by absentee ballot.
Kendra Arciniega and Alissa Nelson, in an axolotl costume, hold signs on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, urging support for independent gubernatorial candidate Meda DeWitt. They were among DeWitt supporters gathered on primary election day at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive in West Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Under low, gray clouds that spit occasional rain sprinkles, candidates running for office in Alaska stood on street corners in Anchorage on Tuesday waving signs, rallying supporters and trying to win the attention and votes of passing motorists. Tuesday’s primary election activities continued what is a longstanding tradition in Alaska politics, with the major statewide candidates gathering in the largest city to make their final pushes for votes.
U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, a Republican running for re-election, gives a thumbs-ups to a passing motorists on Aug. 18, 2026. Next to him is Julie Sullivan, the wife of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, another Republican running for re-election. Supporters of both incumbents were holding signs at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway in Midtown Anchorage. Tom Begich, a Democrat and Nick Begich’s uncle, is running for governor and was rallying that morning at the same intersection, but on the other side of the street. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Both Begiches — gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich and incumbent U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III — spent part of the morning at the busy intersection of the Seward Highway and Northern Lights Boulevard. Tom, the Begich running for governor, is a Democrat and former state senator who represented an Anchorage district that is one of the most left-leaning in the state; Nick, his nephew, is a Republican and ally of President Donald Trump.
They and their sign-waving supporters stood on opposite sides of the street.
It’s an unusual situation, said the younger Begich, who was in a group that also included Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and his wife, Julie Sullivan.
“To my knowledge, there has never been an election in which two members of the same family have run for statewide office in the same cycle for different parties,” Nick Begich said.
Still, he believes the voters know the difference between him and his uncle, he said.
A pickup truck parked on Aug. 18, 2026, at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway expresses support for both U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and capitalism. The intersection, in Midtown Anchorage, is a favored spot for candidate sign-waving. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“You know, Tom’s running his own campaign, and he’s got his own perspective. We have different issues that we think we touch on and at the end of the day, I’m focused on federal issues. And the governor’s race is very crowded right now,” the younger Begich said.
“I think most Alaskans know who’s who,” he added.
Less than two miles to the west along Northern Lights Boulevard, gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins was at the Minnesota Drive intersection, waving to morning commuters.
Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat and former state House member from Sitka who refers to himself as JKT, was in friendly territory. West Anchorage is a reliably Democratic part of Alaska’s biggest city.
Campaigning statewide was a fun experience, Kreiss-Tomkins said.
Gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins holds a campaign sign on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, Alaska’s primary election day. Kreiss-Tomkins and his supporters spent part of the morning at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive in West Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“The campaign has felt like a love letter to Alaska,” he said. He mentioned some places and events he visited: the Hmong Harvest Festival in Anchorage, the Fourth of July and Mount Marathon festivities in Seward and a 450-mile trip along the Yukon River. “We’ve seen all sides of this incredible state. So it’s been awesome,” he said.
Asked if there might be a reshuffling among candidates who wind up in the top four positions, with possible withdrawals to consolidate support in the general election, Kreiss-Tomkins suggested that might happen.
“It’s so hard to say. I think it just depends on the results. People are going to talk and might try to forge coalitions. I’ve personally spoken to some other candidates, and channels of communication are open,” he said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Lesil McGuire and running mate Sara Rasmussen, along with several young supporters, hold up signs on Aug. 18, 2026, at a refreshment table the campaign set up at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway in Midtown Anchorage. They were among the candidates gathered at the busy intersection on the primary election day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent who is now seeking to return to the office he held from 2014 to 2018, refrained from predicting that he would be among the top candidates advancing to the general election.
“We’ll respect the process and we’ll work with whoever moves on,” he said.
Former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent seeking to return to the position he held from 2014 to 2018, stands on Aug. 18, 2026, outside the church where he cast his primary election vote. Walker is among 17 candidates for governor. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Even if he is not among the top vote-getters, it was important for him to run to call attention to serious issues, he said after casting his ballot at a church in West Anchorage’s Turnagain neighborhood. Those issues are primarily the state’s unsustainable fiscal practice of living off its depleted savings, he said, along with the looming Cook Inlet natural gas shortfall that will affect the state’s most populous region.
Walker took a big political hit for reducing the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend in 2016. But that was a time when the state had a $4 billion shortfall and when oil prices were $26 a barrel, he said.
He and his administration took on “the hard stuff,” he said. “We kind of ran into the fire instead of running from it,” he said. Without using names, he said other candidates are making unrealistic promises about good times to come. However, “it’s not what you do in the good times. It’s what you do in the tough times,” he said.
Supporters of independent gubernatorial candidate Meda DeWitt, including two in animal costumes, hold campaign signs on the morning of Aug. 18, 2026, Alaska’s primary election day. They shared the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive, with supporters of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
There was some light-heartedness on the streets, as well.
Supporters of independent gubernatorial candidate Meda DeWitt wore costumes as they stood on the Seward-Minnesota corner opposite Kreiss-Tomkins and his supporters. DeWitt supporters were dressed as a blue and white shark, a white polar bear and a pink axolotl, which is a type of salamander.
State House candidate Lisa Keller, a Democrat running in House District 13, and supporters hold campaign signs in the early morning of Aug. 18, 2026, Alaska’s primary election day. Keller and her supporters were at the intersection of Dimond Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway, in the southern part of her Midtown Anchorage district. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Also hitting the Anchorage streets was Lisa Keller, a state House candidate with what appears to be only token opposition. A Democrat, she is running in House District 13, a slice of Midtown Anchorage that has been represented by retiring Rep. Andy Josephson, also a Democrat. Keller worked as aide to Josephson, and her only opponent is another Democrat, Felix Rivera, who has done little campaigning.
Waving campaign signs at the intersection of Dimond Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway as morning commuters drove by, Keller admitted that her race isn’t getting the same attention as the big statewide races.
“I think I know how the assembly candidates felt back in April because they were being overshadowed,” she said, referring to Anchorage’s municipal election that took place as the statewide races were heating up.
Her race also may lack the drama and excitement that is enveloping the statewide races, she said.
“It doesn’t feel like a very competitive race, but you can never take anything for granted. Just like in sports,” said Keller, who is a champion triathlete and a coach.
Colby McMichael, Ze (“It’s just Ze”), Curt Burgoyne and Jo Maillet wait in line to vote on Aug. 17, 2026, at the Midtown Mall in Anchorage. They got out their guitars when they saw how long the line was, and they played as they waited. The four, all from Anchorage, cast their votes early because they were to be working on a friend’s film on Aug. 18, primary election day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
But a group of young Anchorage voters who cast their ballots on Monday at the Midtown Mall early voting site suggested that state legislative elections may be more important to them than the bigger races.
“I’m here voting because I think it’s important to participate in our local elections, and because I think that small-town elections, small stuff matters more than the big stuff, the big scale,” said Colby McMichael.
With him was Ze — “It’s just Ze,” she said of her name — who also attested to the importance of local elections. “Local change is the most important and most effective change,” she said.
McMichael, Ze, Jo Maillet and Curt Burgoyne were voting early because they were due to be on a friend’s film set on Tuesday. They were among more than 25,000 Alaskans who cast their ballots at the state’s 10 early voting stations.
As they waited in a line that was about an hour long, they took turns playing two guitars. The instruments were fetched from a car once they knew they would have to wait a long time to vote, they said. “We walked in the door, saw the line, and then walked right back out,” Maillet said.
Christine Cikan, a supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich, holds three campaign signs on the afternoon of the Aug. 18, 2026, statewide primary election. She was part of a crowd of candidates and supporters gathered at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway in Midtown Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)Supporters of various candidates, including Democat Mary Peltola, who is running for the U.S. Senate, her opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, and independent gubernatorial candidate Meda DeWitt are gathered on the afternoon of Aug. 18, 2026, at the busy intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and the Seward Highway. The intersection is a favored spot for sign-waving on primary and general election days. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
A polling site at the Mat Su Fire Station 5-1 in Palmer stages a sign reminding residents to vote in the primary election on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
In Southcentral Alaska, voters in some of Alaska’s most conservative regions, including the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Eagle River, cast their votes in Tuesday’s primary election.
Many voters said one of their biggest challenges was deciding which of the 17 candidates for governor they would like to vote for. Voters also said they found the crowded congressional races daunting — there are 15 candidates for Alaska’s sole U.S. House seat and 16 candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat.
At 8:30 a.m. in Eagle River, a northern suburb of Anchorage near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, voters began to arrive in a steady stream to vote before work at the Eagle River Town Center polling station.
Ken Slaughter of Eagle River said he was voting for Shelley Hughes and Blake Gettys for governor and lieutenant governor based on their pro-life stance, a priority for him voting down the ballot as a Republican.
“I’m also a Christian. I’m very conservative in every category — socially, theologically, politically. I don’t like abortion, which to me is murdering babies,” he said. “So I do what I can as a citizen, and that’s vote.”
Farther north in the Matansuka-Susitna Borough, one of the state’s most Republican regions, many voters declined to say on who they picked for governor.
A polling site at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough offices is seen on primary Election Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
In downtown Palmer, at the Matanuska–Susitna Borough offices, the polling station had been set up for the last two weeks since early voting began on August 3. On Tuesday morning, a steady stream of voters stopped by to cast their ballots.
Charm Mastriano of Palmer declined to say who her top pick for governor is, but said she’s hoping for a new direction. “I’m not a Dunleavy fan, and I’m not happy with many of the things he’s done and his vetoes and things like this. So I am looking for a change and hoping for something better,” she said.
Mastriano also declined to say who she voted for in the high-stakes congressional elections, but said she also wanted to see a new direction in the U.S. Congress.
“I think they need to get their act together. I’m not at all happy with our Congress. Generally, in the United States, I’m not pleased with the way they behave and they piddle around and don’t do anything, so I think they need to get it together and get things done,” she said.
A few miles west across the valley, Will Lacy stopped to chat after voting mid-morning at Mat-Su Fire Station 51, where polls were set up beside a row of parked fire engines and ambulances.
Poll workers pose for a photo at the polling site at the Mat Su Fire Station 51 in Palmer on primary Election Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Lacy said he voted for Shelley Hughes for governor, as he was familiar with her serving in the Alaska State Senate representing the region.
“I just like her voting record and the things she stands for while she was serving as senator, and she’s always been consistent, and so that’s what I like most about her,” he said.
He said for the U.S. Senate race he wants to see someone new but declined to say which challenger he voted for.
“I’m going for fresh blood this time around,” he said. “I’m giving somebody else a chance. There’s just some things that I didn’t like about the last two terms, and so I’m just looking for something fresh.”
Poll workers said it was fortunate there had been no fires the engines had to respond to that morning.
Roughly five miles down the Palmer-Wasilla Highway at the Wasilla City Hall, voters stopped by during lunchtime.
After casting her ballot, Evelyn Goughnour of Wasilla said she hoped to see more Alaska voters turn out at the polls.
A polling sire at the Wasilla City Hall is seen on primary Election Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“I’m feeling pretty positive, if we get enough voters,” she said. “But one thing that we are really lacking is people that really vote, and they don’t realize if they don’t vote, there’s nothing that can be done. And if they don’t vote, they can’t say anything about it, is my opinion, because they didn’t do anything to change things.”
Goughnour said she’s concerned about the rising cost of living in Alaska — for herself and for her children and grandchildren — and wants to see the next elected leaders address it.
“The prices are being hiked on everything for all of us normal people — the groceries, the gas, how we can barely get by,” she said. “And it’s getting harder and harder to feed the families because the prices are so high. I’m a senior on Social Security, and it’s harder and harder to feed myself.”
Goughnour said she wants to see term limits of no more than eight years for all elected officials, and voted to limit campaign finance contributions, a “yes” on Ballot Measure 1. She declined to say who she voted for as a top pick for governor, but voted for a candidate with “a good moral background.”
“Honestly, I didn’t go for any of the top runners because I don’t think any of them are good. They’re all politicians,” she said. “I think we need somebody in there that is more down to earth and more in tune with the people, and so not the politicians.”
Zach Scholl of Wasilla said he cast his primary ballot with some relief knowing the primary election would be over Tuesday and end the campaigning, candidate ads and what he called a “bombardment” of campaign flyers in his mailbox.
“I would love to hear more of what people are going for instead of what they hate about the other person. The slander campaign, like, man, that gets old. I want to see, you know, what do you stand for? What are you doing that’s going to be good?” he said. “So that’s one thing that’s a little disappointing in politics in general.”
Scholl also declined to say who he voted for in the governor’s race, but added he has not heard much from Democratic candidates.
“I don’t know anybody on the Democratic side,” he said. “I’ve heard a ton of Republicans just everywhere, and it might be me not paying attention enough, but I’ve heard a lot of the Republicans, so it’ll be interesting to see how that shakes out because that splits votes.”
Scholl said he would like to see fisheries, oil and gas, and energy supply issues addressed by new elected leadership.
“We’re talking about these brownouts and blackouts with gas, that’s a big deal,” he said. “And I think a solution for stuff like that is something that’s you know where if those start happening, people are going to feel and see those effects in real time, and I think those are real issues that I would like to see addressed and talked about.”
Voters cast their ballots at a polling site in the school library of Tanaina Elementary School in Wasilla on primary Election Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
(Rashah McChesney/Chilkat Valley News) Steve Kroschel points to the signs on the front gate to his wildlife center on August 6, 2024, in Mosquito Lake, Alaska.
Haines resident Steve Kroschel returned to the country and turned himself into law enforcement in Juneau Tuesday. He had spent roughly a year in Russia while facing animal cruelty charges in Alaska.
Kroschel was first charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty last September, including three Class C felonies,…
Selling City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5 million rather than auctioning the site for a minimum bid of $2.5 million was approved by the Juneau Assembly by a 6-3 vote on Monday night.
The Alaska Native nonprofit organization plans to demolish the 75-year-old building in favor of a new $40 million three-story structure featuring a glass-blowing studio, retail gallery for “high-end art” and other facilities. SHI President Rosita Kaaháni Worl, during public testimony…
Juneau hasn’t been represented by a Republican legislator since 2017. Annette Kreitzer says it’s time for that to change, given the range of economic and other challenges the region is facing during the coming years.
Kreitzer, a former Haines borough manager, is seeking the District 3 seat held by four-term Democratic incumbent Andi Story. The challenger says she’s seen the Alaska Legislature take actions such as increasing education funding without doing enough to ensure the…
While development of natural resources such as petroleum and mining dominate much of Alaska’s political discussion these days, state Rep. Andi Story says investing in resources such as students and workers is key to solving many of the area’s economic, workforce, outmigration, and other issues.
Story, seeking a fifth two-year term in District 3, says meaningful changes such as education funding increases have passed during her current term representing the northern part of the Southeast…
An arctic fox on the tundra of the north slope of Alaska near a field camp of the Alaska Science Center.
(Photo by Ryan Askren
USGS, Alaska Science Center)
Have you ever wondered about how sea ice and ocean temperatures are changing, marine debris in the Bering Strait, the spread of beavers into northwest Alaska, “rusting rivers” or community-based observations of Bering Sea salmon? For 20 years, the Arctic Report Card, supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has delivered timely and accurate information on the Alaska and Arctic environment that takes raw observations and makes them understandable to anyone interested in what’s happening across the top of the world.
The rapidly changing Arctic environment brings challenges and opportunities to Alaska communities, our state and the United States, including food security and cultural continuity, commercial sustainability and development options, and national energy and security concerns. Nearly 20 percent of the United States’ land area is in Alaska, and Alaska is part of the much larger Arctic. But on August 10, 2026, as reported by the Alaska Beacon, NOAA ended support of the long-running Arctic Report Card.
Since 2006, theArctic Report Card, supported by NOAA, has delivered timely and accurate information on the Alaska and Arctic environment in formats from plain language essays to a professional video to social media bites. Alaskans use the Arctic Report Card for many reasons, because it is a trusted, understandable and vetted source of environmental information and on-the-ground impacts across the Arctic. Starting in 2019, the Report Card has included perspectives rooted in the lived experiences and cultural knowledge of Indigenous peoples in Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic. These are not models or projections or policy. The essays in the Report Card describe what’s happened in our part of the world.
Every autumn more than 100 authors from a dozen or more countries come together, volunteering their time and expertise to create a report, not for other specialists or academic journals, but for anyone who needs timely and accurate information about what’s happening in the Arctic environment. While written for non-specialists, the Arctic Report Card maintains strict scientific integrity through the peer-review process. That is coordinated by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, and neither Report Card editors nor authors have any say in reviewer selection, nor do they know who provides reviews.
Professional societies and international organizations around the world issue several annual reports summarizing yearly weather and climate conditions, but not all include the Arctic; all are released months after the fact and are largely or entirely focused on atmosphere and ocean conditions. The Arctic Report Card is unique in providing both timeliness of the information and the wide range of topics and is the only report that provides broad review of the climate and ecosystems of the Arctic.
The loss of NOAA’s support for the Arctic Report Card does not mean that observations go away, or that change stops. But without the Arctic Report Card, the broad array of information will be harder for non-specialists to find and interpret. I work as an Alaska climate specialist, but as a user of the Arctic Report Card for 20 years and an editor since 2020, I have learned so much about topics outside of my specialty. Over the years, I’ve heard similar comments from Alaskans across the state.
The Arctic Report Card editorial team, dedicated authors and supporters are working hard to keep timely, accurate and accessible Arctic environmental observations available to everyone who relies on this annual report. However, the break in continuity with the first 20 reports and the elaborate interface developed during that time to make this information readily available will make it harder for Alaskans to find what they need in this time of rapid change.
Rick Thoman works as a Climate Specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness at the International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The views expressed are solely the author’s and do not constitute the university’s official position.
