2022 Alaska elections

2022 Alaska elections

←  2020 November 8, 2022 2024  →

The 2022 Alaska state elections took place on November 8, 2022. ^[1] The state also held Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA) elections on the first Tuesday in October. ^[2]

Federal elections

United States Senate Seat (Class III)

Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in Alaska

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski was originally appointed to the Senate in 2002, winning subsequent elections in 2004, 2010, and 2016.

Under Alaska's recently adopted election system, the state conducted a nonpartisan blanket primary. Murkowski finished first (with 45.05% of the vote), ahead of Republican Kelly Tshibaka (38.55%), Democrat Pat Chesbro (6.82%), and Republican Buzz Kelly (2.13%). Murkowski, Tshibaka, Chesbro, and Kelly all advanced to the ranked-choice general election.

In the first round of tabulation in the general election, Murkowski finished first (with 43.37% of the vote); Tshibaka finished in a close second (42.60%). Chesbro received 10.37% of the vote, while Buzz Kelly received 2.89%.

Murkowski won the election with 53.70% of the vote in the third round of tabulation.

2022 United States Senate election in Alaska ^{[3] [4]}

Party		Candidate	First choice			Round 1			Round 2			Round 3
			Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%
	Republican	Lisa Murkowski (incumbent)	113,495	43.37%	+623	114,118	43.39%	+1,641	115,759	44.49%	+20,571	136,330	53.70%
	Republican	Kelly Tshibaka	111,480	42.60%	+621	112,101	42.62%	+3,209	115,310	44.32%	+2,224	117,534	46.30%
	Democratic	Pat Chesbro	27,145	10.37%	+1,088	28,233	10.73%	+901	29,134	11.20%	−29,134	Eliminated
	Republican	Buzz Kelley(withdrew) [a]	7,557	2.89%	+1,018	8,575	3.26%	−8,575	Eliminated
	Write-in		2,028	0.77%	-2,028	Eliminated
Total votes			261,705			263,027			260,203			253,864
Blank or inactive ballots						3,770		+2,824	6,594		+6,339	12,933
	Republican hold

United States House of Representatives

Special election

Main article: 2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election

Incumbent Republican representative Don Young died on March 18, 2022, after serving as representative for 49 years. ^[6] A special election was held on August 16 to fill the rest of his term, resulting in Democrat Mary Peltola beating Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich using the state's newly implemented ranked-choice voting system. ^[7]

2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election

Party		Candidate	Round 1			Round 3
			Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Peltola	74,817	39.66%	+16,449	91,266	51.48%
	Republican	Sarah Palin	58,339	30.92%	+27,687	86,026	48.52%
	Republican	Nick Begich	52,536	27.84%	-52,536	Eliminated
	Write-in		2,974	1.58%	-2,974	Eliminated
Total valid votes			188,666	100.00%		177,423	100.00%
Inactive ballots			3,876	2.01%	+11,374	15,250	7.92%
	Democratic gain from Republican

General election

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

Peltola ran for election to a full-term, again against Palin and Begich. Republican Tara Sweeney originally placed fourth in the nonpartisan blanket primary, but withdrew. She was replaced by Libertarian Chris Bye, who finished the primary in fifth place.

In the first round of general election voting, Peltola came in first with 48.77% of the vote to Palin's 25.74%, Begich's 23.33%, and Bye's 1.73%. In the third round, Peltola won the election with 54.96% of the vote.

2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district election ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Round 1			Round 2			Round 3
			Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%	Transfer	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Peltola (incumbent)	128,553	48.77%	+1,233	129,786	49.22%	+7,477	137,263	54.96%
	Republican	Sarah Palin	67,866	25.74%	+1,533	69,399	26.32%	+43,072	112,471	45.04%
	Republican	Nick Begich	61,513	23.33%	+2,986	64,499	24.46%	-64,499	Eliminated
	Libertarian	Chris Bye	4,570	1.73%	-4,570	Eliminated
	Write-in		1,108	0.42%	-1,108	Eliminated
Total votes			263,610	100.00%		263,684	100.00%		249,734	100.00%
Inactive ballots			2,208	0.83%	+905	3,113	1.17%	+13,950	17,063	6.41%
	Democratic hold

State offices

Governor

Main article: 2022 Alaska gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican governor Mike Dunleavy was originally elected to the position in 2018 with 51.4% of the vote. He ran for re-election in 2022.

In Alaska's nonpartisan blanket primary, Dunleavy and his running mate, former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections Nancy Dahlstrom, finished first with 40.43% of the vote. Former Democratic state representative Les Gara and Jessica Cook came in second place, with 23.06% of the vote; independent former Alaska governor Bill Walker and Heidi Drygas finished in third place with 22.77% of the vote.

Dunleavy and Dahlstrom won the general election in the first round of ranked-choice voting with 50.29% of the vote.

2022 Alaska gubernatorial election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Dunleavy (incumbent) Nancy Dahlstrom	132,632	50.29%	−1.15%
	Democratic	Les Gara Jessica Cook	63,851	24.21%	−20.20%
	Independent	Bill Walker Heidi Drygas	54,668	20.73%	+18.70%
	Republican	Charlie Pierce Edie Grunwald (withdrew) [b]	11,817	4.48%	N/A
	Write-in		784	0.30%	+0.09%
Total votes			263,752	100.0%
Turnout			266,472	44.33%	−5.49%
Registered electors			601,161
	Republican hold

State judiciary

Court of Appeals

Incumbent Alaska Court of Appeals judge Bethany Harbison was appointed by Governor Bill Walker in 2018. ^[10] Her term expired in February 2023 and she was up for retention, which she won and earned a full 10-year term. ^[11]

Results by state house district

Yes:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

No:

•   50–60%

Judge Harbison retention, 2022

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	134,620	61.58
No	84,000	38.42
Total votes	218,620	100.00
Source: Alaska Division of Elections [3]

State legislature

Alaska State Senate

Main article: 2022 Alaska Senate election

19 of the state's 20 senate seats were up for election in 2022, with some elected for two-year terms and other for four-year terms due to redistricting. The Republican party lost two seats, while the Democratic party gained two seats for an eleven to nine seat split respectively. A bipartisan coalition of eight Republicans and nine Democrats was announced, electing Gary Stevens as Senate President.

Alaska State Senate

Party		Leader	Before	After	Change
	Republican	Peter Micciche (retiring)	13	11	2
	Democratic	Tom Begich (retiring)	7	9	2
Total			20	20

Alaska House of Representatives

Main article: 2022 Alaska House of Representatives election

All 40 seats of the Alaska House of Representatives were up in this election. Since 2016, the house had been governed by a coalition of Democrats, Independents, and some Republicans. The coalition was re-elected to a majority, albeit with only 20 of the total 40 seats in the chamber, with 6 Independents and 1 Republican joining all 13 Democrats. Republican Cathy Tilton was elected speaker, replacing Republican Louise Stutes.

Alaska House of Representatives

Party		Leader	Before	After	Change
	Coalition	Louise Stutes	21 [c]	20 [d]	1
	Republican	Cathy Tilton	17	19	2
	Independent Republican	David Eastman	2	1	1
Total			40	40

Ballot measure

Alaska had one statewide ballot measure in 2022 - Ballot Measure 1 asked Alaskans whether a constitutional convention should be held, a vote that appears on ballots every ten years. ^[12] The measure was supported by Governor Mike Dunleavy and opposed by the Alaskan Democratic Party. ^[13]

Results by state house district

No:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Alaska Ballot Measure 1 ^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	180,529	70.45
Yes	75,723	29.55
Total votes	256,252	100.00

Notes

1. Remained on the ballot because of his withdrawal after the deadline of 64 days ahead of the election. ^[5]
2. Suspended her campaign and endorsed Dunleavy on October 25, 2022 after allegations of sexual harassment against Pierce but remained on the ballot. ^[9]
3. Consists of 15 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 4 Independents.
4. Consists of 13 Democrats, 1 Republican, and 6 Independents.

References

1. "November 8, 2022 General Election Information". elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
2. "Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA)". elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
3. "State of Alaska 2022 GENERAL ELECTION Election Summary Report" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. November 30, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
4. "State of Alaska 2022 General Election RCV Detailed Report" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. November 30, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
5. "Alaska Senate candidate drops out of race". The Hill . September 13, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
6. Brooks, James (March 19, 2022). "Alaska's first ranked-choice election will be a special vote to replace Rep. Don Young". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
7. Rakich, Nathaniel (September 1, 2022). "What Democrats' Win In Alaska Tells Us About November". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
8. "RCV Detailed Report | General Election" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
9. Maguire, Sean (October 25, 2022). "Edie Grunwald suspends campaign as lieutenant governor candidate over Pierce sexual harassment allegations". Anchorage Daily News . Retrieved October 26, 2022.
10. Chomicz, Dorothy (November 26, 2018). "Fairbanks judge appointed to Alaska Court of Appeals". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
11. "Alaska intermediate appellate court elections, 2022". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
12. "Alaska Ballot Measure 1, Constitutional Convention Question (2022)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
13. James Brooks (December 13, 2021). "Alaska political insiders prepare for a fight over next year's constitutional convention vote". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved November 9, 2022.