Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Vance lead in primary election results

Across the Kenai Peninsula on Tuesday, voters went to polls and lined street corners to support their chosen candidates in Alaska’s primary election, even though the results won’t materially affect local races.

Alaskans voted Tuesday in the race for U.S. representative and for seats in the Alaska Legislature.

In the primary, voters select one candidate in each race. The top four vote-getters advance to the general election in November. In the local races for state Legislature, no race has more than four candidates running, so no candidates will be eliminated.

Senate District D

In the race for Senate District D, incumbent Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, showed a narrow lead over Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, in Tuesday’s preliminary results. Bjorkman received 2,605 votes for 43.1% of the vote, to Carpenter’s 2,445 and 40.5%.

Bjorkman on Tuesday said that he’s grateful for every person who put in the effort to get out and vote — who made their voices heard.

“Between now and November, I’m going to keep working hard every day to earn every vote I can,” he said. “I will continue to fight for conservative principles and stand against taxes on hard working Kenai Peninsula families.”

Carpenter said that Tuesday’s results don’t change much for his campaign, which “will proceed as planned.” He said he expects far more people to vote in November’s general election, and says that primary results don’t always accurately reflect the final outcome.

“We have our work cut out for us and we expect to be outspent by special interests and dark money,” he said. “I believe our message of fiscal responsibility will ultimately prevail.”

Democrat Tina Wegener, who received 724 votes good for 12.0% of the vote, did not respond to request for comment on Tuesday.

Andy Cizek, who’s running for the Alaska Independence Party, secured 156 votes — 2.6% of the total. He said Tuesday that he hadn’t campaigned much, and wasn’t surprised by the results. He said that he’s been responding to surveys and engaging people in one-on-one conversations — that he feels people are still “lacking accurate information to make an informed decision.”

Cizek said he’s concerned about state law regarding campaign signs, specifically potential fines that can arise if signs are placed along major roads.

“As a law-abiding citizen, it’s very hard to get out name recognition legally, yet alone legitimately,” he said. “My major goal is to awaken people to this problem and preferably not allow someone to buy their seat in Juneau because ‘he who has the most money wins’ isn’t how this country was founded and made into a great nation.”

House District 8

John Hillyer and Bill Elam, both Republicans, are separated by only 47 votes in Tuesday’s preliminary counts for House District 8. Hillyer leads with 1,521 votes, 43.4%, while Elam has 1,474, 42.1%.

Elam said Wednesday that he recognizes what’s “shaping up to be a competitive race.” He said that, along with his team, he woud be stepping up his efforts to overcome the “narrow gap” in November.

“I have some great supporters,” Elam said. “I appreciate everyone who went out and voted yesterday.”

Hillyer did not respond to a request for comment.

House District 7

Incumbent Rep. Justin Ruffridge held a commanding lead over challenger former Rep. Ron Gillham, R-Kenai, in preliminary results for House District 7. Ruffridge brought home 57.1% of the vote, with 1,450 ballots cast in his favor. Gillham saw 960 votes, claiming 37.8%.

Ruffridge on Tuesday expressed gratitude for the community support. He said he’s looking forward to hearing from more people as his campaign continues towards November.

“Campaigns are all about getting to know people and what matters to them,” Ruffridge said. “I will continue to do that to the best of my ability.”

Gillham, late Tuesday evening, said he hadn’t yet seen the results because he had driven his wife to Anchorage. He said that it didn’t matter whether he was up or down in the primary polling, because “from now until the general, the real work begins.” So long as ranked choice voting remains the system used in Alaska, he said, only the November election matters.

House District 6

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, received 1,829 votes, 42.6% of the total share. That put her above all three of her challengers. She said Tuesday that she was proud to represent a district that boasts among the highest voter turnouts in the state. District 6’s 23.5% far outperformed the other districts on the peninsula and many around the state in preliminary numbers.

Vance said that Tuesday’s results “highlight the battleground areas of the district.” She said “it will be interesting to see” if all her challengers will remain in the race or consolidate in the coming months.

“I am confident that my common sense approach to public service with a clear record of doing what I am elected to do will continue to resonate with voters,” she said. “Regardless of the opposition.”

Brent Johnson, currently the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President and running nonpartisan, saw 1,471 votes cast in his favor, for 34.2%. On Tuesday, he said that those results are encouraging. He said he has a “fantastic” team on his side and the drive to keep earning votes.

“The only thing standing between us and victory is work,” he said. “We’re not afraid of work.”

Were this the general election, where the ranked-choice system would be implemented to determine the victor, Johnson said it would have been “a toss-up.” Of course, he said, there will be more voters in the general election — more people to reach.

Alana Greear, a Kachemak-Selo School teacher also running nonpartisan, received 718 votes, 16.7% of the total. She said Tuesday that the results communicate “a clear message: Rep. Sarah Vance is too extreme for the Lower Kenai.” Issues including education, energy and “the structural deficit” are “top of mind for voters,” Greear said.

As absentee and early votes are counted in the coming days, Greear said the perspectives of southern peninsula voters will continue to be illuminated. Looking to the general election, she said she’ll continue evaluating the “next steps forward.”

Dawson Slaughter, an Anchor Point Republican and president of the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce, captured 5.7% of the vote, with 245 ballots cast in his favor. Slaughter said that though this is just the primary and many people understand that the four candidates in the race are all moving forward, he sees a need to take on a larger presence in the community and in front of voters.

There’s “lots to learn,” he said, and “lots of people to engage with” in the lead-up to November’s general election.

House District 5

Incumbent Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, claimed 76.6% of the vote against challenger Leighton Radner, a Seward Libertarian. She had 1,324 votes.

Radner secured 328 votes.

Campaigns on corners

At the intersection of the Sterling Highway in Soldotna, shortly after noon, Bjorkman and Ruffridge could both be seen waving their signs at passersby. A group championing Carpenter also inhabited a street corner, with an additional sign held by one in support of Hillyer.

People waving signs for Bjorkman and Ruffridge said that they were focused on a selection of issues — education, energy, the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend and the state budget.

Among them was Tim Keener, a longtime commercial fisher. He said that he’s excited about Bjorkman and Ruffridge because they’re young and they get things moving. Keener has worked for many years in the hopes of seeing legislation passed that would implement a gear reduction program for the east side setnet fishery. The two freshmen legislators this last session, he said, “moved it forward more than it has in years.”

“These guys get it done,” he said. “They’re a pretty impressive couple of young men — they’re not afraid to stand up for what they believe.”

Standing on another corner, Diane Bush said that there weren’t specific policies on her mind on Tuesday, rather that she was interested in what candidates had done in the last two years — looking for a candidate with “honesty, integrity, and who’s not for the unions and the Democrats.” She carried a sign for Carpenter. That’s because, Bush said, Bjorkman is a Republican but joined the Alaska Senate majority caucus that included Democrats.

“I know Ben won’t do that,” she said.

In Homer on Tuesday afternoon, Vance could be seen campaigning with her supporters at WKFL Park. At the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and Lake Street, Greear was out with her supporters, and there were also people waving signs for Johnson.

Primary polling

At polling places around Kenai and Soldotna, poll workers largely reported slow — but steady — traffic. That’s to be expected in a primary election.

At the K-Beach Precinct in the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, Nancy Eoff was at the helm of a small group of poll workers. Only minutes after noon, they crossed 100 ballots cast, but Eoff said the real cause for celebration was that her precinct was joined by a new and young face among its poll workers.

“I love seeing younger people in,” she said.

On the southern Kenai Peninsula, poll workers in Homer’s voting locations around noon noted a steady trickle of traffic from when the polls opened at 7 a.m. As of 5 p.m., Homer Precinct #1 in the Homer City Council chambers had received about 300 votes. Poll workers at that location also noted an exceptionally high number of voters who cast ballots ahead of election day.

By around 1 p.m., the Soldotna Public Library had seen around 150 votes cast, and Kenai’s Precinct #2 in the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska was approaching 100.

At Kenai Precinct #1, traffic was slow, but poll workers were expecting more of a crowd after people started getting off work.

Sept. 1 is the target date for certification of the election results. Unofficial results can be viewed at elections.alaska.gov.

Each of the local candidates will be back on the ballot in the general election on Nov. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 21.

This story was updated on Wednesday, Aug. 21, to add comment from House District 8 candidate Bill Elam.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com. Homer News reporter Emilie Springer contributed to this report. She can be reached at emilie.springer@homernews.com.