Alaska primary: who advanced and what passed, in unofficial results

Alaskans voted better than two to one Tuesday to cap political donations, in an election conducted with no limits at all.

The Division of Elections posted the figures below at about 3 pm Wednesday, with roughly 98% of precincts counted. They are preliminary and unofficial.

Ballot Measure 1 passed with more than 70% of the vote, 71.31% to 28.69%. It caps what a candidate can accept from a single donor at $2,000 per election.

It does not reach independent expenditure groups, which can raise and spend without limit as long as they do not coordinate with a campaign. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that independent spending cannot be capped the way direct contributions can, and no state ballot measure changes that. The measure closes one channel into Alaska races and leaves the other open.

In the U.S. Senate race, Mary Peltola led with 48.09% to Dan S. Sullivan's 42.74%, setting up a November contest between a former congresswoman and a two-term incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg, whose ballot access drew court fights and legislative subpoenas, drew 2.44% — roughly 3,200 votes cast for a name.

The fourth and final advancing slot is a coin flip. David Leslie held it with 1,499 votes to Gerald Heikes' 1,479. Twenty votes, with absentee and questioned ballots still to count.

Nick Begich led the U.S. House field with 46.12%. Bill Hill, who became the principal challenger after Matt Schultz suspended his campaign and endorsed Begich, took 30.89%. Schultz still drew 8.04% after leaving the race. Eric Hafner was fourth at 3.80%.

The governor's race put 17 tickets on one ballot and sent four to November. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins led with 21.62%, Tom Begich took 20.07%, Bernadette Wilson 10.44%, and Dave Bronson 8.40%.

Attorney General Treg Taylor is currently fifth at 7.44%, about 1,250 votes short. Click Bishop follows at 7.17%.

Turnout currently sits at 22.18%, with 133,510 ballots cast out of 601,906 registered voters.

All 40 state House seats and half the state Senate were also on the ballot, though under the top-four system a field of four or fewer advances intact regardless of order.

The results are unofficial. Absentee, questioned and other later-counted ballots remain outstanding, and in contests decided by dozens of votes they can still change who advances.