Overview and Live Results: Wyoming, Alaska Primaries and Congressional Special Election
By 270toWin Staff
August 15, 2022, 5:49 PM ET
On Tuesday, primary voters in Alaska and Wyoming will determine the fate of two sharp critics of former president Donald Trump. Alaskans will also fill a vacancy in the U.S. House, although we probably won't know the winner until the end of the month.
On this page, we highlight the primaries of most interest. Use the links below to see all results. Latest poll closing (Eastern Time) appears below the state name. If you are voting in one of these locations, check with your polling place as the hours may differ.
| Alaska >> | Wyoming >> |
| 12:00 AM1 | 9:00 PM |
1Portions of the Aleutian Islands close at 1:00 AM
U.S. House Special General Election
Before we get to the primaries, there is a special election to fill the vacancy in Alaska's at-large congressional district.. The winner will complete the term of Don Young (R), who died in March.
48 candidates competed in the June primary. The top four advanced to the special general election. Sarah Palin, the former governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, finished first with 27% of the vote. Fellow Republican Nick Begich III had 19%. Independent candidate Al Gross was third with 13%, and Democrat Mary Peltola took the final spot with 10%. Gross subsequently dropped out.
This election will be decided by ranked choice voting. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, the third place finisher will be eliminated. The second choice of that candidate's voters will be allocated to the remaining two candidates. That will give one of them a majority and a seat in the U.S. House.
Mail-in ballots from overseas voters will be accepted until August 31. The ranked choice runoff will not be conducted until all ballots are counted, making it unlikely that the winner will be known before that time.
The only recent public poll points to a tight election. Peltola earned 41% support. The two Republicans evenly split the other 59% - they were separated by just one respondent! The survey also modeled both Republicans in the ranked choice round. In a Begich vs. Peltola scenario, Begich led by 55% to 45%. The Begich vs. Palin scenario was much closer, with Peltota leading 51% to 49%. That is within the poll's margin of error.
Wyoming
U.S. House At-Large District (Republican)
Rep. Liz Cheney faces a challenge from a Trump-endorsed attorney, Harriet Hageman. Ousting Cheney, who has played a very visible role as vice chair of the January 6 committee, has been a top priority for the former president.
The RealClearPolitics average of two recent polls shows Hageman at 55%, nearly double the 29% support of the incumbent.
Cheney is the last of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to face primary voters. If she loses, only two of those will be on the ballot in November.
Alaska
The top four finishers in each of these all-party primaries will advance to the general election, which will be conducted using ranked choice voting.
U.S. Senate
One of seven GOP Senators who voted to convict Trump in January, 2021, Lisa Murkowski is seeking a fourth term. The former president, looking to defeat her, endorsed Republican Kelly Tshibaka late last year. She is the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration.
Murkowski and Tshibaka are both expected to advance to the general election, but the primary will be an early test of their individual support. Two other candidates from the very large field will also move on.
Governor
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy is seeking a second term. He has nine challengers on the primary ballot, including his predecessor, independent Bill Walker. Both are expected to advance, along with Democratic former State Rep. Les Gara. It is unclear who will take the fourth and final spot.
U.S. House At-Large District
While Alaskans can select up to three candidates in the ranked choice special election, they will be limited to just one choice from the 20+ candidates in the regular primary election to hold the state's at-large district for the next two years.
All three special election candidates are on the ballot and seem likely to advance. The fourth spot will probably go to Republican Tara Sweeney, who finished fifth in the special primary in June. (Sweeney's supporters attempted to get her added to the special general election ballot after Al Gross withdrew, but were unsuccessful.)
Upcoming
- August 23
- Florida Primary
- New York Primary
- U.S. House and State Senate; other primaries were June 28
- Oklahoma Primary Runoffs
- New York U.S. House Districts 19 and 23 Special Elections
- September 6
- Massachusetts Primary
- September 13
- Delaware Primary
- New Hampshire Primary
- Rhode Island Primary
- November 8
- Election Day
- Indiana U.S. House District 2 Special Election
