Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins projected to win Alaska governor's race, ending eight years of Republican rule

In brief

• Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has been projected to win Alaska's governor race.
• His victory ends the tenure of Republican Mike Dunleavy, who has governed since 2018.
• At 37, he will be the youngest governor in Alaska's history.
• He takes office on December 7 and campaigned on school funding and an oil and fuel tax.

Victory over three Republicans

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has been projected the winner of the Alaska governor's contest, with NBC News calling the race on Saturday and handing the office from the Republican Party to his party (Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins race for Alaska governor, replaces a Republican – NPR) (Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins the Alaska governor’s race – NBCNews.com). The Associated Press reached the same conclusion (Demokrata wygrał wybory na gubernatora Alaski. Pierwsze takie zwycięstwo od 1998 roku – Bankier.pl). He beat three Republicans on the ballot: Dave Bronson, Treg Taylor and Bernadette Wilson (Zwrot na Alasce. Pierwsza taka sytuacja od 28 lat – RMF24).

A first since 1998

Voters chose a Democrat for governor in November 2026, the first such election in Alaska since 1998 (Demokrati získali guvernéra aj na Aljaške, prvýkrát od roku 1998 – HNonline.sk). Kreiss-Tomkins is due to take office on December 7. Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, will become the youngest governor in Alaska's history and the youngest sitting governor in the country.

Who he is

Kreiss-Tomkins is a former state lawmaker from Sitka. He ran on a message of bipartisanship and gained the endorsement of Republican state senator Lisa Murkowski a week before the November 3 vote (Novým guvernérom amerického štátu Aljaška sa stane demokratický kandidát Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins – Aktuality.sk). He has said he is willing to work with Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Policy agenda

His campaign pushed for full state funding of public schools and a corporate income tax on oil and fuel producers, the core of Alaska's economy. He also called for a moratorium on new data centers until lawmakers write rules for them. He further backed lower energy costs, an expansion of the Medicaid program and protections for fishing.

Succeeding Dunleavy

He will replace term-limited Republican Mike Dunleavy, who has governed since 2018.