Nome votes blue in midterm elections

The polls have closed and ballotcounting begins, leaving many Alaskans glued to their computers, hitting the refresh button to update the unofficial counts on the Division of Election website.
After the last voters cast their ballots in Nome, The Nome Nugget obtained preliminary and unofficial results from Nome’s two precincts, which show that the majority of Nome’s votes are trending consistently with the nationwide “blue wave” as Democrats across the country are projected to achieve a majority in both chambers of Congress and flipped several governorships from red to blue in the midterm elections.
In the race for U.S. Senate, unofficial Nome results show Mary Peltola has received around 63 percent of the votes cast in person on election day, November 3. Incumbent Dan S. Sullivan garnered about 30 percent and Petersburg Dan Sullivan received about 1.5 percent. These results do not reflect absentee or early voting numbers and are only results from Nome’s two precincts.
In the race for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, about 45 percent of Nome in-person voters chose independent Bill Hill with incumbent Republican Nick Begich III getting 37 percent of the Nome first rank vote, again, without early or absentee votes tallied.
Gubernatorial candidate Johnathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D) is ahead with 62 percent of Nome voters ranking him first. He is followed by Republican Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson, and lastly Tregg Taylor.
In the race for Alaska House Representative District 39, Incumbent Neal Foster (D) is ahead of challengers Tyler Ivanoff and Reynold Okitkun in the race for the state house seat.
Statewide results are still coming in as of press time on Tuesday night, with the Senate race too tight to call.
Begich leads the race for the House seat, with Bill Hill coming in second and third is spoiler candidate, Eric Hafner, a convict serving time in a New York prison and never having set foot in Alaska, having siphoned at least 7 percentage points.
In the 2022 midterms Nome’s voter turnout was about 30 percent and based on numbers available on Tuesday night, in-person voters, early and absentee voters indicate the same turnout this year, in line withthe national trend of a motivated electorate across the country. Also, Division of Elections Regional Supervisor Tierra Rana told the Nugget that early voters constituted a much higher number compared to those voting in the primary elections. 
Alaska will continue to accept ballots for days and it could be over a week until the results are in. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the first-choice votes, the winners will be determined by ranked choice voting which is set to be tabulated on Nov. 18. The target date to certify the election is November 25.
Rana and her team took calls all day from the over 100 polling locations in the region she oversees. At 8 p.m. they welcomed several volunteers into their office on the first floor of the Sitnasuak building to field calls from polling places calling in to report results.
After polls closed at Old St. Joe’s in Nome, the election team printed results and made sure all ballots got where they needed to go. Election judges Truong Phan and Connor Thomas scooped ballots by the handful out of the Dominion voting machines. Long receipts displaying counts curled onto the floor.
All polling locations across the Nome Census area opened on election day, some with more help than usual. Wales and Teller welcomed youth ambassadors, 16 and 17-year-olds employed through a “Youth at the Booth” program spearheaded by the Alaska Federation of Natives. The goal was to grow young people’s understanding of elections and get them interested and involved in the civic process. 
In Diomede, the polling place was located in the same building as the post office, which saw a steady stream of people coming in to pick up their mail as weather allowed the Pathfinder helicopter to deliver mail to Diomede on Monday. But reports indicated that people were not interested in voting. Diomede has 44 eligible voters, with eight having cast their vote by the afternoon.
In Shishmaref, however, poll worker Zena Barr reported a great turnout of voters. The best turnout so far, she said. “It’s exciting!”
In Nome multiple shuttle services took voters to the polls. Cootus Warnke spent all day driving the van for Kawerak. Picking people up, running them home and in one case, rushing to get a voter home to grab her identification and back with only 20 minutes until the polls closed. 
A lot of energy and money has been poured into the election this year and voters were bombarded with mailed flyers and video ads for and against candidates. The night before the election the political action committee 49th State PAC, which supports Peltola, held a “Get Out the Vote” event at the Mini Convention Center in Nome. People ate catered dinner and hoped their door prize ticket would be called so they could choose from a folding table covered in Costco-sized items like tide pods, lotion and shampoo bottles. They also gave away Peltola t-shirts, hats and thermoses, even a fishing pole.
While people ate, Vanessa Tahbone talked about ranked choice voting and the different ballot measures up for vote, instructing people to look at the sample ballots on the tables for guidance on how to rank candidates. The Diomede Drummers and Dancers performed for the crowd.
With reporting from Diana Haecker