Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, grabbed a 113-vote lead in Tuesday’s count of absentee, questioned and early votes, making a significant comeback since election-day results put her surprisingly down by three votes.
But it’s not been without significant controversy.
As has been well–reported already, the vote tally of House District 15 has been riddled with problems ranging from absentee ballots requested in the name of seven deceased voters, a higher than usual number of undeliverable by-mail absentee ballots and other irregularities.
Tuesday’s review of ballots added 219 early, absentee and questioned votes to the race on a margin that heavily favored LeDoux. LeDoux’s vote tally currently stands at 452 votes in the Republican primary to challenger Aaron Weaver’s 339 votes. Weaver finished surprisingly strong on election night considering he hadn’t run a significant campaign.
The state’s report on absentee, early and questioned ballots shows there are a total of 299 of such ballots that have been fully accepted and another 69 that were partially accepted. Additional by-mail absentee ballots can be received as late as Friday, so the count can grow but it’s near impossible that it’ll shift the lead.
At this point, LeDoux holds a roughly 15 percent lead over Weaver.
Still, the race is likely far from a satisfying finish.
Of the 219 ballots added to the total on Tuesday, 26 are considered by the state to be “suspect absentee ballots.” All 26 of the suspect absentee ballots cast in last week’s election voted for LeDoux, but her margin is now so wide that those ballots won’t have an impact on the winner.
What is unresolved, however, is just what happened with the suspect ballots and the ballots cast in the name of the seven deceased voters. The penalties for voter fraud ranges from a class A misdemeanor for knowingly falsifying voter registration to a class C felony for voting in someone else’s name.
The Alaska Republican Party, which has already disowned LeDoux for caucusing with Democrats and is considering a write-in campaign for Weaver, has been quick to point fingers at LeDoux over the matter. LeDoux has denied any wrongdoing and pointed to her strong results in the absentee voting as a result of an “insurance policy” for tight races.
The ADN also highlighted the fact that part of LeDoux’s campaign focused on soliciting votes from the Hmong community in her district, an effort that she spent more than $10,000 on to hire a translator who specializes in voter outreach.
Whether or not charges materialized is now in the hands of the Department of Law, and will likely take weeks or even months to be resolved.
Other tight races
Not nearly as much fanfare has focused on the other two razor-thin races that are waiting on the full count for a victor. Unlike the race for House District 15, neither of these races has been definitively decided by Tuesday’s count but at least neither has been marked by significant controversy.
Senate District O – Micciche leads by 72 with nearly 300 votes left to count
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, was in trouble on election day but after the first round of counting absentee, early and question ballots should give the incumbent Republican some room to breathe easy. He now leads with 2,930 votes to challenger Ron Gillham’s 2,858 votes.
The state reports that it’s received an fully accepted 782 absentee ballots in the district (a number that can grow through Friday), 518 early voting ballots and 74 questioned ballots. So far, it’s counted a portion of that, leaving 165 absentee ballots and 110 early ballots to be tallied.
So far, Micciche has prevailed in absentee ballot counts so if the trends hold for the remaining ballots then we don’t expect his lead to shrink.
House District 29 – Carpenter leads by 13 with nearly 200 votes left to count
The Republican primary for House District 29, the seat held by Rep. Mike Chenault, is down to a margin of 13 votes as of Tuesday’s tally. Currently, Ben Carpenter is up with 1,367 votes to Wayne Ogle’s 1,354.
The state reports it’s received and fully accepted 431 absentee ballots, 237 early votes and 27 questioned ballots in this district. It’s so far counted a portion of that leaving, 130 absentee ballots (a number that could grow through Friday), 65 early vote ballots and up to nine question ballots to be reviewed, leaving the narrow race still in limbo.
The latest vote – Aug. 28 5:30 p.m.
US REPRESENTATIVE (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 441/442 (100%) — Total votes: 38926
Christophe Cumings DEM: 3133 (8.05%)
Alyse S. Galvin DEM: 20961 (53.85%)
Carol Hafner DEM: 5813 (14.93%)
Dimitri Shein DEM: 9019 (23.17%)
US REPRESENTATIVE (R)
Precincts reporting: 441/442 (100%) — Total votes: 67664
Thomas Nelson REP: 10512 (15.54%)
Jed Whittaker REP: 9204 (13.6%)
Don Young REP: 47948 (70.86%)
GOVERNOR (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 440/441 (100%) — Total votes: 37626
Mark Begich DEM: 32069 (85.23%)
William S. Toien LIB: 5557 (14.77%)
GOVERNOR (R)
Precincts reporting: 440/441 (100%) — Total votes: 68719
Darin A. Colbry REP: 400 (0.58%)
Mike J. Dunleavy REP: 42233 (61.46%)
Thomas A. Gordon REP: 947 (1.38%)
Gerald L. Heikes REP: 477 (0.69%)
Merica Hlatcu REP: 1037 (1.51%)
Michael D. Sheldon REP: 1547 (2.25%)
Mead Treadwell REP: 22078 (32.13%)
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 440/441 (100%) — Total votes: 32880
Debra L. Call DEM: 32880 (100%)
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (R)
Precincts reporting: 440/441 (100%) — Total votes: 64331
Lynn Gattis REP: 6652 (10.34%)
Edie Grunwald REP: 17468 (27.15%)
Sharon D. Jackson REP: 5165 (8.03%)
Kevin G. Meyer REP: 23074 (35.87%)
Gary L. Stevens REP: 7848 (12.2%)
Stephen Wright REP: 4124 (6.41%)
SENATE DISTRICT A (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 13/13 (100%) — Total votes: 1169
Scott Kawasaki DEM: 1169 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT A (R)
Precincts reporting: 13/13 (100%) — Total votes: 1460
Pete Kelly REP: 1460 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT C (R)
Precincts reporting: 41/42 (98%) — Total votes: 2422
Click Bishop REP: 2422 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT E (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 22/22 (100%) — Total votes: 992
Susan “”Su”” Kay DEM: 992 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT E (R)
Precincts reporting: 22/22 (100%) — Total votes: 5291
Randall D. Kowalke REP: 1705 (32.22%)
Michael K. Shower REP: 3586 (67.78%)
SENATE DISTRICT G (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 13/13 (100%) — Total votes: 1121
Oliver Schiess DEM: 1121 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT G (R)
Precincts reporting: 13/13 (100%) — Total votes: 4739
Dan Saddler REP: 1974 (41.65%)
Lora H. Reinbold REP: 2765 (58.35%)
SENATE DISTRICT I (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 17/17 (100%) — Total votes: 2031
Elvi Gray-Jackson DEM: 2031 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT I (R)
Precincts reporting: 17/17 (100%) — Total votes: 1650
Jim Crawford REP: 1650 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT K (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 15/15 (100%) — Total votes: 2103
Sam Cason DEM: 2103 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT K (R)
Precincts reporting: 15/15 (100%) — Total votes: 3048
Mia Costello REP: 3048 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT M (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 15/15 (100%) — Total votes: 1694
Janice Park DEM: 1694 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT M (R)
Precincts reporting: 15/15 (100%) — Total votes: 3983
Chris Birch REP: 3100 (77.83%)
Bekah Halat REP: 883 (22.17%)
SENATE DISTRICT O (R)
Precincts reporting: 17/17 (100%) — Total votes: 5788
Peter A. Micciche REP: 2930 (50.62%)
Ronald D. Gillham REP: 2858 (49.38%)
SENATE DISTRICT Q (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 18/18 (100%) — Total votes: 4720
Jesse Kiehl DEM: 4720 (100%)
SENATE DISTRICT S (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 66/66 (100%) — Total votes: 1876
Lyman F. Hoffman DEM: 1876 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 1 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 808
Kathryn E. Dodge DEM: 808 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 1 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 981
Barton S. LeBon REP: 703 (71.66%)
Wolfgang Falke REP: 278 (28.34%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 2 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 4/4 (100%) — Total votes: 304
Van Lawrence DEM: 304 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 2 (R)
Precincts reporting: 4/4 (100%) — Total votes: 637
Steve Thompson REP: 637 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 3 (R)
Precincts reporting: 5/5 (100%) — Total votes: 1373
Tammie Wilson REP: 1373 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 4 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1451
Grier Hopkins DEM: 1451 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 4 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1201
Jim Sackett REP: 1201 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 5 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 912
Adam L. Wool DEM: 912 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 5 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 991
Kevin McKinley REP: 991 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 6 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 32/33 (97%) — Total votes: 787
Ed Alexander DEM: 787 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 6 (R)
Precincts reporting: 32/33 (97%) — Total votes: 1389
David M. Talerico REP: 1389 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 7 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1988
Co Sullivan-Leonard REP: 1988 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 8 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 456
James L. Chesbro DEM: 307 (67.32%)
Mark Fish LIB: 149 (32.68%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 8 (R)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 2423
Andrew C. Murr REP: 599 (24.72%)
Mark Neuman REP: 1824 (75.28%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 9 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 485
Bill Johnson DEM: 485 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 9 (R)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 2996
Pamela Goode REP: 623 (20.79%)
Jim Colver REP: 887 (29.61%)
George Rauscher REP: 1486 (49.6%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 10 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 541
Neal T. Lacy DEM: 243 (44.92%)
Patrici Faye-Brazel DEM: 298 (55.08%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 10 (R)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 2217
David Eastman REP: 2217 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 11 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 597
Eileen E. Patterson DEM: 597 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 11 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 2772
Edna B. DeVries REP: 1140 (41.13%)
DeLena M. Johnson REP: 1632 (58.87%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 12 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 509
Stephany Jeffers DEM: 509 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 12 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 2486
Cathy L. Tilton REP: 2486 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 13 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 361
Danyelle D. Kimp DEM: 361 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 13 (R)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 1552
Nancy A. Dahlstrom REP: 639 (41.17%)
Craig Christenson REP: 469 (30.22%)
Bill Cook REP: 444 (28.61%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 14 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 754
Joe Hackenmueller DEM: 754 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 14 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 3106
Kelly R. Merrick REP: 1316 (42.37%)
Jamie D. Allard REP: 1133 (36.48%)
Eugene Harnett REP: 657 (21.15%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 15 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 5/5 (100%) — Total votes: 419
Patrick McCormack DEM: 143 (34.13%)
Rick Phillips DEM: 84 (20.05%)
Lyn D. Franks DEM: 192 (45.82%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 15 (R)
Precincts reporting: 5/5 (100%) — Total votes: 791
Aaron A. Weaver REP: 339 (42.86%)
Gabrielle LeDoux REP: 452 (57.14%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 16 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 973
Ivy A. Spohnholz DEM: 973 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 16 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1010
Stanley A. Wright REP: 1010 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 17 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 885
Andrew L. Josephson DEM: 885 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 17 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 805
Marcus Sanders REP: 805 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 18 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 10/10 (100%) — Total votes: 1162
Harriet A. Drummond DEM: 1162 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 18 (R)
Precincts reporting: 10/10 (100%) — Total votes: 845
Anthony C. Lekanof REP: 845 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 19 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 835
Geran Tarr DEM: 726 (86.95%)
Cean Stevens LIB: 109 (13.05%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 20 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 1952
Warren P. West LIB: 43 (2.2%)
Cliff Groh DEM: 620 (31.76%)
Elias Rojas DEM: 335 (17.16%)
William Z. Fields DEM: 954 (48.87%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 20 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 692
Ceezar X. Martinson REP: 692 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 21 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 1454
Matt Claman DEM: 1454 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 21 (R)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 1379
Marilyn Stewart REP: 1379 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 22 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 686
Dustin Darden DEM: 686 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 22 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1888
Sara Rasmussen REP: 1007 (53.34%)
Liz Vazquez REP: 881 (46.66%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 23 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 751
Chris Tuck DEM: 751 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 23 (R)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 1152
Forrest J. McDonald REP: 537 (46.61%)
Connie R. Dougherty REP: 615 (53.39%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 24 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1025
Sue Levi DEM: 1025 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 24 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 2158
Charles M. Kopp REP: 1522 (70.53%)
Stephen J Duplantis REP: 636 (29.47%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 25 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 933
Pat Higgins DEM: 933 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 25 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1670
Charisse E. Millett REP: 714 (42.75%)
Josh C. Revak REP: 956 (57.25%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 26 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 792
Hunter Dunn DEM: 792 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 26 (R)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 2375
Laddie Shaw REP: 1068 (44.97%)
Joe Riggs REP: 704 (29.64%)
Albert Fogle REP: 603 (25.39%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 27 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 1126
Liz Snyder DEM: 1126 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 27 (R)
Precincts reporting: 8/8 (100%) — Total votes: 1956
Lance Pruitt REP: 1344 (68.71%)
Donald W. Jones REP: 612 (31.29%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 28 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 1418
Amber M. Lee DEM: 1418 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 28 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 2727
Ross P. Bieling REP: 1109 (40.67%)
Jennifer B Johnston REP: 1618 (59.33%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 29 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 667
Shawn A. Butler DEM: 667 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 29 (R)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 2721
Wayne H. Ogle REP: 1354 (49.76%)
Benjamin Carpenter REP: 1367 (50.24%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 30 (R)
Precincts reporting: 6/6 (100%) — Total votes: 2327
Gary A. Knopp REP: 2327 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 31 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 1488
Paul Seaton DEM: 1488 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 31 (R)
Precincts reporting: 9/9 (100%) — Total votes: 2732
Henry F. Kroll REP: 398 (14.57%)
John R. Cox REP: 1120 (41%)
Sarah L. Vance REP: 1214 (44.44%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 32 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 14/14 (100%) — Total votes: 704
Dennis P. Harris DEM: 704 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 32 (R)
Precincts reporting: 14/14 (100%) — Total votes: 1731
Richard H. Walker REP: 785 (45.35%)
Louise Stutes REP: 946 (54.65%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 33 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 11/11 (100%) — Total votes: 3016
Tom Morphet DEM: 579 (19.2%)
Steven D. Handy DEM: 474 (15.72%)
Sara Hannan DEM: 1865 (61.84%)
James E. Hart DEM: 98 (3.25%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 34 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 2068
Robert H. Edwardson DEM: 522 (25.24%)
Andrea Story DEM: 1546 (74.76%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 34 (R)
Precincts reporting: 7/7 (100%) — Total votes: 1452
Jerry A. Nankervis REP: 1452 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 35 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 14/14 (100%) — Total votes: 1152
Jona Kreiss-Tomkins DEM: 1152 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 35 (R)
Precincts reporting: 14/14 (100%) — Total votes: 1177
Richard J. Wein REP: 711 (60.41%)
Kenny Skaflestad REP: 466 (39.59%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 36 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 10/10 (100%) — Total votes: 572
Ghert Abbott DEM: 572 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 36 (R)
Precincts reporting: 10/10 (100%) — Total votes: 1003
Trevor A. Shaw REP: 1003 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 37 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 35/35 (100%) — Total votes: 783
Bryce E. Edgmon DEM: 783 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 37 (R)
Precincts reporting: 35/35 (100%) — Total votes: 696
William W Weatherby REP: 441 (63.36%)
Stanley Swetzof REP: 255 (36.64%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 38 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 31/31 (100%) — Total votes: 1103
Tiffany Zulkosky DEM: 1103 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 38 (R)
Precincts reporting: 31/31 (100%) — Total votes: 532
Darren M. Deacon REP: 532 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 39 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 33/33 (100%) — Total votes: 1169
Neal W. Foster DEM: 1169 (100%)
HOUSE DISTRICT 40 (ADL)
Precincts reporting: 23/23 (100%) — Total votes: 902
John Lincoln DEM: 902 (100%)
Be the first to comment on "LeDoux pulls win out of troubled vote tally while Micciche, Carpenter quietly grab leads"