Control of Alaska House Depends Upon Race Which is Currently TIED

Daily News-Minor:

In the nail-biter of a race for House District 1, Republican candidate Bart LeBon and Democratic candidate Kathryn Dodge are tied with 2,661 votes each following a review of all in-person ballots by the bi-partisan State Review Board and an initial count of absentee ballots.

Now, according to Jeremy Johnson, Fairbanks regional director for the Division of Elections, all absentee ballots will go through a hand audit process to make sure no votes were missed. That process will begin Friday. There are 522 absentee ballots to be hand-audited, Johnson said. …

The outcome of the race will determine the fate of this year’s House structure. If LeBon wins, the House will have a Republican majority, 21-19. If Dodge wins, the House will be split 20-20, a situation that will put the parties in a stalemate until a ruling caucus can be formed by some members shifting from one caucus to the other, according to current House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham. This will mean the difference between Governor-elect Mike Dunleavy having a Republican Senate and House or a Democratic-led House that may oppose legislation handed down from the governors office.

Share this: