Initial results in Alaska’s House District 1 race have Republican Jeremy Bynum with a commanding lead at more than 51% of the vote.
There are three candidates running for the seat to represent the district that includes Ketchikan, Saxman, Metlakatla, Wrangell, Hyder, and Coffman Cove. By 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, the Alaska Division of Elections was reporting results from all ten of the district’s precincts.
The rest of the vote was split between independents Agnes Moran and Grant EchoHawk. They both had less than 25% of the vote, with Moran taking a slight edge of about 50 votes over EchoHawk.
Bynum spoke to KRBD from his home at about 10 p.m. on election night. He was confident in his chances.
“We’re very happy with the way the results are and we want to thank all of the folks that supported us, and also let everybody know that even if you didn’t vote for me, I’m going to work very hard to make sure I’m representing District 1 as a whole,” Bynum said.
If Bynum holds onto a simple majority of votes, he’ll win outright. If no candidate receives more than 50% after all votes are counted, the winner will be determined by ranked choice tabulation later this month.
Bynum said he has immediate plans if he wins the seat.
“We’re going to be looking into the future and working hard to position District 1 in a positive position,” he said. “And that starts, I mean, we’re working on that right now.”
The District 1 race is key for the future of the state House. Control of the chamber is currently uncertain and House Republicans see the seat as a critical opportunity in maintaining their narrow majority. The seat is currently held by independent Dan Ortiz, who decided not to run for reelection in May.
Absentee ballots will continue to be counted for up to two weeks after the election as they come in.
