No on 2 spends $2.1 million in about 10 days as the ranked choice vote nears

No on 2, the campaign to keep Alaska's open primary and ranked choice voting, reported Thursday that it spent $2.09 million from Oct. 12 to Oct. 22, most of it on TV, radio and online ads.

Repeal Now, the group backing Ballot Measure 2, reported spending $242,000 from Oct. 12 to Oct. 20, more than half of it on video ads through Chase & Co., a firm in Lehi, Utah.

Voters decide the measure Nov. 3. It would repeal the top-four primary and ranked choice general elections, restore party primaries and repeal or change rules for groups that spend independently on elections. A similar repeal failed in 2024 by 743 votes.

Most of No on 2's spending, about $1.7 million, went to Long-Range Media Strategies, a Washington, D.C., firm, for ad time on TV and radio stations across Alaska and on YouTube and other online outlets, according to its report. Ship Creek Group of Anchorage received about $285,000 for mailers and Facebook, Instagram and Google ads.

No on 2 also reported $569,000 in new contributions, led by $300,000 from the Laborers' International Union of North America, based in Washington, D.C. Glen Tullman, chief executive of Transcarent, of Chicago, gave $100,000, Laurie Michaels of Fort Worth, Texas, gave $75,000 and the International Association of Firefighters gave $50,000. The 32 Alaska donors on the report gave $5 to $1,500 each. The campaign has raised $10.46 million in all.

Repeal Now reported $11,463 in new contributions from 11 Alaskans, $10,000 of it from one Palmer donor. Its main backer has been Aurora Action Network, which has given the group more than $2 million, according to state filings. One filing named Elon Musk as the true source of $1.5 million Aurora received.