The Associated Press has called the Alaska governor’s race for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative from the small island community of Sitka.
At 37, Kreiss-Tomkins will be the youngest governor in Alaska’s history. He replaces outgoing Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited and has served as governor since 2018.
He is the first Democrat elected governor of Alaska since 1998. Alaska’s last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who left office in 2002.
Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans: Trump-backed business owner Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. He won more than 50% of first-choice votes, so no ranked-choice runoff was needed. The AP call came after more than a week of counting votes, including mail votes from remote parts of the state.
A separate ballot proposal to scrap Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system failed, so the system stays in place.
With this win and others in the midterms, Democrats will hold 30 governors’ offices across the country, up from 24.
Kreiss-Tomkins is set to take office at noon on December 7, with independent Zac Johnson as lieutenant governor.
He campaigned on a bipartisan, problem-solving approach, describing himself as a “man of the middle”, and said he plans an administration of Democrats, Republicans and independents. He was endorsed by three former governors – a Democrat, a Republican and an independent – and by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.
“I strongly believe people just want things to work, and want people to work together,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
Source: Associated Press, 14 November 2026.
