Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins Wins Alaska Governor's Race

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won the race for Alaska governor, according to an Associated Press race call reported by NPR.

Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, is a former Alaska state representative from Sitka. He will be the youngest governor in state history, according to NPR. He will replace Republican Mike Dunleavy, who has been governor since 2018 and cannot seek another term because of term limits. Kreiss-Tomkins is set to take office at noon on Dec. 7.

Alaska's last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who left office in 2002. With Kreiss-Tomkins' win, Democrats will hold 30 governors' offices, up from 24, according to NPR.

The election used ranked-choice voting, a system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. Kreiss-Tomkins faced three Republicans: Trump-backed business owner Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.

Alaska voters also rejected a ballot proposal to scrap the ranked-choice voting system, according to an AP race call.

Kreiss-Tomkins was endorsed by three former governors, a Democrat, a Republican and an independent, along with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. He said he plans to build an administration made up of Democrats, Republicans and independents.