Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins Alaska governor's race, first since 1998
Summary
- Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won Alaska's 2026 governor's race with 50.8% of first-choice votes, defeating three Republicans and avoiding a ranked-choice runoff.
- He is Alaska's first Democratic governor since 1998 and, at 37, its youngest ever; he takes office on December 7, 2026, succeeding term-limited Republican Mike Dunleavy.
- He defeated Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage mayor Dave Bronson and former attorney general Treg Taylor, who split the Republican vote.
- His campaign focused on affordability, full funding of public schools, corporate income taxes on oil and gas producers, and a moratorium on new data centers.
- He ran as a bipartisan coalition-builder with an independent lieutenant governor, Zac Johnson, after endorsements from Senator Lisa Murkowski and three former governors.
- His win helps give Democrats 30 governorships nationwide after a midterm wave that also flipped governor's offices in Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas.
Reactions
- Dave Bronson congratulated Kreiss-Tomkins on social media, saying Alaskans had made their choice and that he respected their decision.
- Bernadette Wilson acknowledged her loss, saying that despite deep disagreements she was glad someone born in Alaska had been elected to lead it.
- Senator Lisa Murkowski said Kreiss-Tomkins understands that governing requires listening to different perspectives and finding common ground.
- President Trump had endorsed Bernadette Wilson and accused Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor of dividing the Republican vote.
- In his victory statement, Kreiss-Tomkins said Alaskans had voted for change and that his administration would not waste a single day getting to work.
Timeline newest first
Kreiss-Tomkins will be sworn in as governor on December 7, 2026, with independent Zac Johnson as lieutenant governor.
Kreiss-Tomkins won 50.8% of first-choice votes, avoiding ranked-choice tabulation; Bernadette Wilson received 28.1%, Dave Bronson 13.6% and Treg Taylor 7.7%.
President Trump endorsed Bernadette Wilson at an October 2026 rally in Wasilla and criticized Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor for dividing Republican voters.
The Associated Press called the race for Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on November 13, 2026, making him the first Democrat elected Alaska governor since 1998.
Alaska election officials plan to certify the gubernatorial results on November 25, 2026.
Polls opened November 3, 2026, with Dave Bronson, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Treg Taylor and Bernadette Wilson on the gubernatorial ballot.
Sources newest first
- Democrat wins Alaska governor’s seat for first time in nearly 30 years
theguardian.com· 4h
The Guardian reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state legislator, won Alaska's governorship in the 2026 midterms, defeating three Republicans including a Trump-backed candidate — the state's first Democratic governor since 1998. The Associated Press called the race ten days after polls closed; he won over 50% of first-choice votes in Alaska's ranked-choice system, and Democrats also took governorships in states such as Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Georgia.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins becomes first Democrat since 1998 elected governor in AlaskaThe Associated Press reports that Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former Alaska state lawmaker, was elected governor, the first Democrat to win the office since 1998, defeating three Republicans including Donald Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson. His victory gives Democrats 30 governorships, and he is to be sworn in on 7 December 2026 after endorsements from Lisa Murkowski and three former governors.
Democrat wins Alaska governor race without ranked-choice runoffA Newsweek article reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won Alaska's governor race outright with 50.8 percent of the vote, defeating three Republicans and avoiding a ranked-choice runoff to replace term-limited Governor Mike Dunleavy. It says Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress and several governors' mansions in the 2026 midterms, which Newsweek attributes to voters turning on President Trump over the cost of living and the war in Iran.
Democrat flips Alaska governor's mansion after Trump-backed GOP infightingFox News reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won Alaska's gubernatorial election, defeating Trump-endorsed Republican Bernadette Wilson to become the state's first Democratic governor since 1998. The victory came after Republican infighting, with Trump criticizing GOP rivals Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor for dividing conservative voters in a ranked-choice contest.
Kreiss-Tomkins Becomes First Democrat Since 1998 Elected Governor In Alaskahuffpost.com· 16h
An Associated Press article on HuffPost reports that former state lawmaker Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won Alaska's 2026 gubernatorial race, the first Democrat elected governor there since 1998, defeating three Republicans including Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson amid a national midterm wave that will put Democrats in 30 governor's offices. The article says he campaigned on affordability, school funding, oil and gas taxes, and a ferry system he called shambles, and vowed to work across party lines with an independent lieutenant governor, Zac Johnson, after endorsements from Sen. Lisa Murkowski and three former governors.
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins race for Alaska governor, replaces a RepublicanThe Associated Press has called Alaska's governor's race for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who will replace term-limited Republican Mike Dunleavy on December 7, 2026, becoming the state's first Democratic governor since Tony Knowles left office in 2002. Eric Stone reports the 37-year-old, who beat three Republicans in Alaska's ranked-choice system, will be Alaska's youngest governor and plans an administration of Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
A Democrat Wins the Alaska Governor’s Race for the First Time Since 1998nytimes.com· 16h
A New York Times article reports that Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a 37-year-old former ultramarathoner from Sitka, defeated Republican Bernadette Wilson to become Alaska's first Democratic governor since 1998 and its youngest ever. Republican infighting and Trump-endorsed Wilson's loss in the four-person race helped him win a majority before ranked-choice counting, and he takes office Dec. 7 pledging to fix education, housing, and Alaska's finances.
Kreiss-Tomkins becomes first Democrat since 1998 elected governor in Alaska
AP News reports that Alaska voters elected Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins governor in 2026, the first Democrat to win the office since 1998, as he defeated three Republicans including Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson amid a midterm wave that gave Democrats 30 governorships. His campaign focused on affordability, school funding, and oil and gas taxes, and drew endorsements from Senator Lisa Murkowski and three former governors.
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins Alaska governor’s racewashingtonpost.com· 16h
The Washington Post reports Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won Alaska's governor's race, defeating three Republicans including Donald Trump's preferred candidate, Bernadette Wilson. At 37, he will be the state's youngest governor and its first Democrat since Tony Knowles, succeeding Mike Dunleavy.
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins the Alaska governor’s racenbcnews.com· 16h
NBC News reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won Alaska's governor's race, defeating three Republicans — including Trump-backed Bernadette Wilson — to succeed term-limited Mike Dunleavy and flip the office to Democrats. At 37, he will be Alaska's youngest governor; he campaigned on school funding, energy costs, Medicaid expansion, fisheries, and a moratorium on new data centers.
Alaska elects Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins governorAlaska Public Media reports the Associated Press has called the 2026 governor's race for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former Sitka state representative who will replace term-limited Republican Mike Dunleavy and become the state's first Democratic governor since Tony Knowles. Kreiss-Tomkins says he plans a bipartisan administration, a "moderate" Permanent Fund dividend, and greater investment in public education.
Democrat wins Alaska governor race, in setback for GOP scheme to steal Senate seatdemocracydocket.com· 23h
A Democracy Docket article reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is projected to win Alaska's governor race, which the Associated Press says would make him the state's first Democratic governor in more than two decades. It covers the still-uncalled Senate race, where Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan by 5,800 votes amid a certification fight: Trump has called for votes against Peltola to go to Sullivan, the Justice Department's lawsuit over certification was dismissed but is on appeal, and Governor Mike Dunleavy has refused to commit to certifying a Peltola win, saying that if illegal acts are found, "that may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate."
Peltola and JKT strengthen leads in latest Alaska election resultsAlaska Public Media reports that Mary Peltola has widened her Senate lead over Dan Sullivan to 49% to 47.2% as votes are counted, while Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins holds a large first-choice lead in the governor's race. The Trump administration has sued to block certification if Sullivan loses, and Trump falsely claimed Sullivan had won.
Alaskans are waiting for more votes in Senate and governor's races. Both could go to ranked tabulationsAn Associated Press report says Alaskans were waiting on 4 November 2026 for results in the Senate race between Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola and an open governor's seat, with ranked tabulation possible and officials targeting 18 November to finish counting. The Justice Department, suing at Trump's direction to block certification if Sullivan loses, saw its case dismissed but appealed, while a repeal of Alaska's ranked vote system was too early to call.
Alaska Election Results 2026: Live UpdatesNPR's live Alaska Election Results 2026 page lists candidates for governor (including Dave Bronson, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Treg Taylor, and Bernadette Wilson), Senate (with incumbent Dan Sullivan), and the District 1 House race (with incumbent Nick Begich). The Associated Press estimates 0% of votes are in in each race as of Nov. 3, 2026.
Background newest first
Alaska voters stick with ranked-choice voting, again
politico.com· 4h
Alaska voters kept ranked-choice voting for a second straight election, rejecting a Trump-backed ballot measure to end it, while Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won the governor's race with Lisa Murkowski's endorsement, per the Associated Press. Criticism from Trump and Republicans intensified after a second Dan Sullivan ran against the senator, and Trump called the system "disastrous, and very fraudulent."
Alaskans vote in support of ranked-choice voting for third timeDemocracy Docket reports that Alaska voters rejected a ballot measure to repeal the state's ranked-choice voting and open primary systems for a second time, with 53.5% opposing the repeal as of the Sunday before the article. President Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed the system enabled a Democratic scheme to confuse voters in the Senate race, while FairVote's Meredith Sumpter said ranked-choice voting "is here to stay," and Mary Peltola is forecast to win the race against Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Two Dan Sullivans Couldn’t Sour Alaska on Ranked-Choice VotingAlaska voters rejected Ballot Measure 2, the second time in two years they have declined to scrap ranked-choice voting, leaving the state's open primaries and ranked-choice general elections intact. The article also follows the unresolved Senate race between Mary Peltola and Senator Dan Sullivan, where a similarly named candidate, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., raised voter-confusion concerns.
Peltola holds nearly 4-point lead on Sullivan in latest ballot dropthehill.com· 8h
The Hill reports that Mary Peltola has widened her lead over Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska's U.S. Senate race to nearly 4 points, more than 10,000 votes, with 91 percent counted and Peltola at 49.8 percent, just short of avoiding a ranked choice runoff. Her campaign declared victory on X, saying Sullivan has no mathematical path, while Decision Desk HQ has not called the race; it also projected Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won the governorship and that the still-uncalled House race will go to a ranked choice tabulation.
Democrats won Congress. Can their leaders read the room? | OpinionIn a Newsweek opinion column, Faisal Kutty calls the Democrats' 2026 midterm sweep of Congress a rebuke of Donald Trump driven by young voters' worries over living costs and the Iran war, not an endorsement of the progressive left. He questions whether Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries can read the room as calls grow for new leadership.
Democrats turn to 2028 after midterm gains boost moderates and progressiveselpais.com· 17h
An El País article by Luis Doncel reports that Democrats' sweeping 2026 midterm win — 255 House seats, over 100 women lawmakers, and control of both chambers — has revived the party as it looks toward 2028. It says the party ran on affordability and now faces an internal contest between establishment centrists like Hakeem Jeffries and progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with a wide field of contenders expected, from Kamala Harris to Jon Ossoff and Josh Shapiro.
Peltola leads in U.S. Senate race, nearing 50% mark with almost all ballots countedAlaska Public Media reports that Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's U.S. Senate race with nearly 50% of first-choice votes and most ballots counted, likely sending the race to ranked choice tabulation on November 18. The Justice Department's lawsuit seeking to block certification if Sullivan lost — over votes allegedly siphoned to a Dan J. Sullivan — now appears moot, and the AP called the governor's race for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins while voters rejected Ballot Measure 2.
Democrats made shocking gains with religious voters — but not everywherevox.com· 34h
A Vox article by Christian Paz examines the 2026 midterms' "blue tsunami," arguing it scrambled the religious electorate: Catholics swung hard left after backing Trump by double digits in 2024, evangelicals stayed home, and mainline Protestants and Muslims joined a diverse Democratic coalition, while Jewish support dipped though it remained strong. Paz sees a wave of Democratic-leaning Christians newly elected to Congress as among the election's most striking features.
2028 Dems: Don’t label me
Politico reports that potential 2028 Democratic contenders, from moderates like Elissa Slotkin and Josh Shapiro to progressives like Ro Khanna, are shunning the party's progressive-versus-moderate labels and casting themselves as anti-Washington pragmatists after sweeping midterm wins. But Politico sees the midterm wave as fueling rather than ending the party's ideological civil war, and it expects more proxy battles as the field narrows to one nominee.
Rep.-elect Don Leonard Says Senior Dems Threatened to Make His Life “Living Hell” over Jeffries Votedemocracynow.org· 2d
Democracy Now!'s November 12, 2026, headlines lead with Rep.-elect Don Leonard's post that senior House Democrats threatened to make his life a "living hell" after he set conditions for backing Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, as 11 Democrats missed an impeachment vote on Pete Hegseth. The headlines also cover Scott Colom's historic Mississippi Senate win, the Nasser Hospital strike in Gaza that killed surgeon Dr. Rizk Abu Shaira, Jensen Huang's resignation from Nvidia amid reports of a Chinese spy affair, Trump's Veterans Day defense of attacks on Iran and Venezuela, and a general strike in Spain over housing costs.
Democrats are divided over what midterm victory meansHugh Cameron's Newsweek article reports that Democrats swept the 2026 midterms—flipping both chambers for the first time since 2006 and winning red states like Texas and Kansas—yet remain divided over why, with moderates like Third Way and Howard Wolfson crediting centrist candidates and progressives like Elizabeth Warren and the Working Families Party citing populist economics. Jeffries and Schumer are seen as overwhelming favorites to keep their leadership posts, while the Congressional Progressive Caucus expects a record 105 members.
Democrats' state wins open the door for major clean energy progresscanarymedia.com· 8d
Canary Media reports that Democrats' 2026 midterm wins — flipping governorships in five states, breaking Republican trifectas, and likely giving the party trifectas in 21 or more states — open the door to major state-level clean energy progress. Advocates like Climate Cabinet's Caroline Spears say the election turned on affordability, utility bills, and data centers, and newly empowered Democrats could push cleaner power and lower costs where Trump's veto power limits Congress.
Democrats try to take majority of governors' offices for first time in two decadesAn Associated Press article covers vote counting in the 2026 midterm governor races, where Democrats hoped to win a majority of governors' offices for the first time since 2006, with 36 states electing governors. The AP reports a dozen competitive races, sees Democrats' best pickup chances in Alaska, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio, and notes Wes Moore, JB Pritzker and Josh Shapiro all won reelection; in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother drew bipartisan rebukes while Trump praised it.
Alaska U.S. Senate Election Live Results 2026The Associated Press's live results page tracks the 2026 Alaska U.S. Senate race, where Mary Peltola led incumbent Dan Sullivan 49.8% to 46.1% with the AP estimating 96% of votes counted, both below the 50% threshold needed to avoid ranked choice voting. It cites a New York Times report that Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting the other Daniel J. Sullivan, and AP Voter Poll findings that young voters and Latinos shifted toward Democrats in the midterms.
