Seat currently held by GOP Daniel S. Sullivan who is running for re-election.
Alaska converted to a Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) process in 2020. With RCV, the four
candidates who receive the most votes, advance to the general election, regardless
of party affiliation. In the general election, voters will rank the four contenders
in order of preference. If no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote, the candidate
with the least votes is eliminated and the ballots for that candidate, will be re-allocated
based upon their 2nd choice. This process continues until one candidate receives at least
50% of the votes. Hawaii, Maine, and Washington DC; have all adopted RCV. An initiative to
repeal RCV in Alaska was defeated by only 743 votes, in 2024; and another measure to repeal
RCV will be on the general election ballot in 2026.
Mary Peltola is an Alaskan Native who has served in both the Alaska House and the US House of
Representatives. This looks like it will be a close race and could be a major coup if Mary Peltola wins.
As of August 20th, Mary Peltola has almost a 5% point lead over GOP Daniel S. Sullivan. Because
the RCV voting will move the top 4 finishers to the general election, as of August 20th, that will also
include Republican Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Democrat David Leslie. However, because the mail in
ballots can be received through Aug 28th, those last two contenders might still change.
Thanks to Rosy Finch for providing additional information!