Alaska held its general election on November 8, 2022, deciding 59 legislative seats and 2 statewide offices led by the governorship. Control shifted: the Senate moved from a 13-7 Republican majority to organization by a bipartisan coalition; the House moved from a 21-17 Republican majority to organization by a bipartisan coalition.
Highlights
- Alaska's first general election under ranked-choice voting, held on new district lines, pulled the Legislature toward the center: a bipartisan bloc of moderates took the Senate, and the House settled on a Republican-led majority only after weeks of deadlock.
- In the Senate, eight Republicans joined all nine Democrats in a 17-member bipartisan majority, leaving three conservatives in the minority and ending years of Republican control of the chamber. Two results built it. In West Anchorage, Rep. Matt Claman (D) unseated Sen. Mia Costello (R) by about 4 points in Senate District H, the most expensive Senate race in the state. In South Anchorage's Senate District E, former Senate President Cathy Giessel (R) won back a seat from Sen. Roger Holland (R), who had beaten her in 2020. The three-way race, which also included Roselynn Cacy (D), went to ranked-choice tabulation. Giessel became the new majority leader, with Sen. Gary Stevens (R) as Senate president, and coalition leaders credited ranked-choice voting with electing more moderate candidates in both parties.
- Republicans won 21 of the 40 House seats. Ranked choices reshaped two close Anchorage races: Rep. Tom McKay (R) erased a first-round deficit to Denny Wells (D) in House District 15, the state's closest race, and kept the seat through a recount, while in House District 18 Cliff Groh (D) overtook Rep. David Nelson (R). Speaker Louise Stutes (R) stayed with the outgoing, mostly Democratic coalition, which left the chamber split 20-20 for weeks. In January the House chose a speaker: Rep. Cathy Tilton (R), at the head of a Republican-led majority that included the rural Bush caucus but not Stutes or Rep. David Eastman (R).
- Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) became the first Alaska governor reelected since 1998, clearing half the first-choice vote so no ranked-choice tabulation was needed. He finished roughly 26 points ahead of Les Gara (D), with former Gov. Bill Walker (I) third; Nancy Dahlstrom (R) was elected lieutenant governor on his ticket.
- Of the 59 legislative races on the ballot, 4 changed party hands. Besides Senate District H and House District 18, Democrats picked up House District 31, where Maxine Dibert (D) beat Rep. Bart LeBon (R), and Republicans picked up House District 34, where Frank Tomaszewski (R) beat Rep. Grier Hopkins (D). Two more House incumbents lost: Rep. Ron Gillham (R), beaten by fellow Republican Justin Ruffridge (R) in House District 7, and Rep. Harriet A. Drummond (D), who lost an incumbent-vs-incumbent race to Rep. Zack Fields (D) in House District 17. In House District 22, Stanley Wright (R) edged Ted Eischeid (D) by under 2 points.
- Voters rejected Ballot Measure 1, the once-a-decade question on calling a state constitutional convention, by better than two to one.
Legislature
- House (40 seats): 15 D, 21 R, 4 other or vacant before the election, 13 D, 21 R, 6 other or vacant after; control moved from Republicans to a bipartisan coalition.
- Senate (20 seats): 7 D, 13 R before the election, 9 D, 11 R after; control moved from Republicans to a bipartisan coalition.
Statewide races
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | Daniel Ortiz (I) 52.4% | Jeremy Bynum (R) 47.3% | |
| House 2 | Rebecca Himschoot (I) 58.3% | Kenny Karl Skaflestad (R) 41.3% | |
| House 3 | Andi Story (D) 95.4% | Unopposed | |
| House 4 | Sara Hannan (D) 79.1% | Darrell Harmon (I) 19.6% | |
| House 5 | Louise Stutes (R) 60.9% | Benjamin Vincent (R) 38.5% | |
| House 6 | Sarah Vance (R) 52.1% | Louis Flora (I) 44%, Ginger Bryant (I) 3.6% | |
| House 7 | Justin Ruffridge (R) 52.6% | Ron Gillham (R) 46.5% | Incumbent defeated |
| House 8 | Ben Carpenter (R) 96.6% | Unopposed | |
| House 9 | Laddie Shaw (R) 54.2% | David Schaff (D) 45.6% | |
| House 10 | Craig Johnson (R) 51.5% | Caroline Storm (D) 42.7%, Mikel Insalaco (L) 5.1% | |
| House 11 | Julie Coulombe (R) 38.61% | Walter Featherly (I) 45.47%, Ross P. Bieling (R) 15.4% | |
| House 12 | Calvin Schrage (I) 59% | Forrest McDonald (R) 40.9% | |
| House 13 | Andy Josephson (D) 52.5% | Kathy Henslee (R) 47.4% | |
| House 14 | Alyse Galvin (I) 66.9% | Nick Danger (R) 32.6% | |
| House 15 | Thomas McKay (R) 38.77% | Denny Wells (D) 46.59%, David Eibeck (R) 14.15% | |
| House 16 | Jennifer Armstrong (D) 55.1% | Liz Vazquez (R) 44.6% | |
| House 17 | Zack Fields (D) 55.7% | Harriet A. Drummond (D) 41.7% | Incumbent defeated |
| House 18 | Cliff Groh (D) 35.3% | David Nelson (R) 44.04%, Lyn Franks (D) 20.24% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 19 | Genevieve Mina (D) 74.1% | Russell Wyatt (D) 22.1% | |
| House 20 | Andrew Gray (D) 54.3% | Paul Bauer (R) 25.8%, Jordan Harary (R) 15% | |
| House 21 | Donna Mears (D) 51% | Forrest Wolfe (R) 48.8% | |
| House 22 | Stanley Wright (R) 50.8% | Ted Eischeid (D) 48.9% | |
| House 23 | Jamie Allard (R) 61.5% | Roger Branson (R) 36.8% | |
| House 24 | Dan Saddler (R) 52.6% | Sharon Jackson (R) 25%, Daryl Nelson (D) 21.6% | |
| House 25 | DeLena Johnson (R) 77.8% | Lawrence D. Wood (R) 20.8% | |
| House 26 | Cathy Tilton (R) 80.8% | Daniel Stokes (L) 18.5% | |
| House 27 | David Eastman (R) 51.3% | Stuart Graham (R) 27%, Brendan Carpenter (R) 19.8% | |
| House 28 | Jesse Sumner (R) 36.6% | Steve Menard (R) 25.71%, Rachel Allen (R) 21.49% | |
| House 29 | George Rauscher (R) 74.1% | Elijah Haase (I) 25.3% | |
| House 30 | Kevin McCabe (R) 44.99% | Doyle Holmes (R) 34.43%, Joy Mindiola (D) 19.98% | |
| House 31 | Maxine Dibert (D) 49.11% | Bart LeBon (R) 29.42%, Kelly Nash (R) 20.69% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 32 | Will Stapp (R) 51.5% | Van Lawrence (D) 32.4%, Timothy Givens (R) 15.4% | |
| House 33 | Glenn Prax (R) 97.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 34 | Frank Tomaszewski (R) 48.94% | Grier Hopkins (D) 43.04%, Nate DeMars (R) 7.8% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| House 35 | Ashley Carrick (D) 53.5% | Kevin McKinley (R) 28.2%, Ruben McNeill (R) 14.8% | |
| House 36 | Mike Cronk (R) 65.4% | Angela Fowler (D) 34.2% | |
| House 37 | Bryce Edgmon (I) 96.8% | Unopposed | |
| House 38 | Conrad McCormick (D) 74.2% | Myron Naneng (R) 12.9% | |
| House 39 | Neal Foster (D) 50.9% | Tyler Ivanoff (R) 48.4% | |
| House 40 | Josiah Patkotak (I) 97.8% | Unopposed | |
| Senate A | Bert Stedman (R) 68.8% | Michael Sheldon (R) 30.5% | |
| Senate B | Jesse Kiehl (D) 95.8% | Unopposed | |
| Senate C | Gary Stevens (R) 56.3% | Heath Smith (R) 31.1%, Walter H. Jones (R) 11.6% | |
| Senate D | Jesse Bjorkman (R) 45.82% | Tuckerman Babcock (R) 41.6%, Andy Cizek (I) 11.66% | |
| Senate E | Cathy Giessel (R) 33.64% | Roger Holland (R) 33.1%, Roselynn Cacy (D) 32.91% | Incumbent defeated |
| Senate F | James Kaufman (R) 54.5% | Janice Park (D) 45.3% | |
| Senate G | Elvi Gray-Jackson (D) 56.5% | Marcus Sanders (R) 43.1% | |
| Senate H | Matt Claman (D) 51.8% | Mia Costello (R) 47.9% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| Senate I | Löki Tobin (D) 66.4% | Heather Herndon (I) 32.2% | |
| Senate J | Forrest Dunbar (D) 50% | Andrew Satterfield (R) 32.7%, Geran Tarr (D) 16.8% | |
| Senate K | Bill Wielechowski (D) 58% | John W. Cunningham (R) 41.7% | |
| Senate L | Kelly Merrick (R) 57.9% | Kent McCarty (R) 41% | |
| Senate M | Shelley Hughes (R) 75.8% | Jim Cooper (D) 24% | |
| Senate N | Dave Wilson (R) 44.46% | Stephen Wright (R) 28.99%, Scott Clayton (R) 25.32% | |
| Senate O | Mike Shower (R) 51.8% | Doug Massie (R) 47% | |
| Senate P | Scott Kawasaki (D) 51.1% | Jim Matherly (R) 42%, Alex Jafre (R) 6.4% | |
| Senate Q | Robert Myers (R) 62.6% | John D. Bennett (I) 30.9%, Arthur Serkov (D) 6% | |
| Senate R | Click Bishop (R) 56.7% | Elijah Verhagen (R) 27.1%, Bert Williams (Alaskan Independence Party) 15.6% | |
| Senate S | Lyman Hoffman (D) 64.7% | Willy Keppel (I) 34.7% | |
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Ballot Measure 1 | Ask voters whether to hold a state constitutional convention | Failed (30% yes) |