JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Republican Charlie Pierce has advanced to the November general election in the race for Alaska governor.
Pierce is the mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, who is running with Edie Grunwald.
Pierce joins Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, independent former Gov. Bill Walker and Democrat Les Gara in advancing from last week’s primary.
Under a voter-approved process being used in Alaska elections for the first time this year, the top four vote-getters in primary races advance to the general election where ranked choice voting will be used.
Ballot counting continued in Alaska, with elections officials reporting new tallies Tuesday, one week after the primary.
Pierce campaigned on paying residents an annual dividend from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, in line with a formula that many lawmakers argue is outdated and unsustainable and that has not been used in years. Lawmakers instead have annually set a dividend amount and used fund earnings, traditionally used for dividends, to also help fund state government. They have sought to cap what is withdrawn each year.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Republican U.S. House candidate Tara Sweeney said Tuesday she plans to end her campaign, saying she does not see a path to victory or to raise the money needed to be successful in the November general election.
Sweeney was positioned in fourth place after last week's U.S. House primary as elections officials continue to count ballots. But she was far behind the top finishers, Democrat Mary Peltola and Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, who were already poised to advance to the November general election.
An elections process approved by voters in 2020 calls for the top four vote-getters in a primary to advance to the general election, in which ranked choice voting will be used.
Tiffany Montemayor, a spokesperson with the state Division of Elections, said if a candidate who advances from the primary withdraws 64 or more days before the general election, the fifth place candidate would advance instead.
“The Division will determine the candidates for the general election ballot after the primary results are certified and the September 5 withdrawal deadline,” she said by email.
Peltola, Palin and Begich also were the three candidates competing in last week's ranked choice special election that will determine who serves the remainder of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young's term, which ends early next year. The results of that election aren't expected until Aug. 31.
Sweeney finished fifth in the June special primary but did not qualify for the special election after the third place finisher, independent Al Gross, withdrew. Gross' name was not on the special election ballot but elections officials and the courts determined he withdrew too late for Sweeney's name to appear.
Sweeney announced shortly before the Aug. 16 special election that she had filed as a write-in candidate for that race.
Sweeney, in her statement Tuesday, said she would file paperwork to withdraw from the House race but did not say when. She did not say if she would endorse anyone.
Her campaign manager, Karina Waller, said Sweeney's statement would be the only one issued by the campaign Tuesday.
“This race is vitally important to Alaska’s future,” Sweeney said. “We must ensure the best representation possible is in place as Alaska’s only voice in the House of Representatives. I look forward to working with a true Alaskan willing to carry forward the legacy of Don Young while serving in Congress.”
Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press
