Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins the Alaska governor’s race

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Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won the Alaska governor’s race, NBC News projects, flipping control of the office from Republicans.

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won the Alaska governor’s race, NBC News projects, flipping control of the office from Republicans.

Kreiss-Tomkins’ victory marks the latest gain for Democrats at the state level in this year’s elections. The party will hold 30 governorships next year after flipping control in six states.

At 37, Kreiss-Tomkins will be the youngest governor in Alaska history and next year he will be the youngest sitting governor in the country. Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, defeated three Republicans on the ballot to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

In Alaska, the top four vote-getters in the primary regardless of party advance to the general election, where ranked choice voting is utilized. Kreiss-Tomkins secured a majority of the vote on the first ballot, so the ranked choice aspect did not come into play in the race.

Former state Sen. Tom Begich, a Democrat, had finished second in the August primary just behind Kreiss-Tomkins. But he dropped out of the race soon after to consolidate Democratic support behind Kreiss-Tomkins.

The three Republican candidates on the November ballot were Anchorage businesswoman Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor. Wilson, who was backed by President Donald Trump, finished a distant second.

Kreiss-Tomkins, who often goes by JKT in the state, earned bipartisan support during his campaign. Most notably, he was endorsed by GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski one week before Election Day. “JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now — a freshness of energy, a common-sense guy who has a known ability to be working together,” Murkowski said in an interview with NBC affiliate KTUU of Anchorage.

Kreiss-Tomkins campaigned on boosting funding for public schools, lowering energy costs, expanding Medicaid and protecting Alaska’s fisheries.

He also called for a moratorium on all new data centers until the state…

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