Alaska held its general election on November 6, 2018, deciding 50 legislative seats and 2 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans took the governorship and won the most House seats, but not the House itself. After the party claimed a 21-member majority two days after the election, the chamber sat deadlocked for a month and organized in February 2019 under a 25-member multi-party majority led by Speaker Bryce Edgmon (D), who had re-registered as undeclared days earlier.
- Mike Dunleavy (R) won the governorship by about seven points over Mark Begich (D), taking the office from an independent. Gov. Bill Walker (I), whose running mate had resigned three days earlier over inappropriate comments, suspended his campaign and backed Begich in October but remained on the ballot and drew about 2 percent.
- The House majority came down to one vote in Fairbanks' open House District 1. Kathryn Dodge (D) briefly pulled ahead on questioned ballots, but a recount put Bart LeBon (R) ahead by a single vote. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld that one-vote win in January, and LeBon then joined the multi-party majority rather than the Republican minority.
- Elsewhere, 3 sitting legislators lost:
- Voters rejected Ballot Measure 1, the Stand for Salmon initiative to tighten permitting for development in salmon habitat, after a business-backed opposition campaign spent more than $10 million against it.
- Across the 50 legislative races, 4 seats changed party: Democrats picked up one in the Senate and Republicans two in the House, one of them from an independent. No other race finished inside two points, and 7 seats drew a single candidate.
Legislature
- House (40 seats): 17 D, 21 R, 2 other or vacant before the election, 16 D, 23 R, 1 other or vacant after; control stayed with a bipartisan coalition.
- Senate (20 seats): 6 D, 14 R before the election, 7 D, 13 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Ballot Measure 1 | Creates salmon habitat protection standards and permit requirements | Failed (37.68% yes) |