Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins race for Alaska governor, replaces a Republican
Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state legislator, ran a campaign emphasizing bipartisanship in the the state that usually votes Republican. At 37, he'll be the youngest governor in the state's history.
Noticia publicada originalmente por NPR — News en npr.org (se abre en una pestaña nueva). Minuto 24 no es autor de este contenido.
Claves de la noticia
- El demócrata Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins ganó la elección a gobernador de Alaska según una proyección de la agencia Associated Press.
- Con 37 años, será el gobernador más joven en la historia del estado.
- Reemplazará al republicano Mike Dunleavy, que termina su mandato por límite de periodos y ha gobernado desde 2018.
- La victoria llegó tras más de una semana de conteo de votos, incluidos los enviados por correo y los de zonas remotas.
- Los demócratas tendrán 30 gobernaciones en el país, frente a 24 actuales, según el artículo.
Contexto
Alaska es un estado con un sistema electoral poco común, que usa votación por orden de preferencia, en el que un candidato necesita la mayoría de los votos para ganar. Además, los votantes debatieron si eliminar ese sistema, y la propuesta fue rechazada. El estado afronta problemas de costos altos para alimentos, combustible y vivienda, escasez prevista de gas natural cerca de sus principales núcleos de población y fondos públicos estables frente a gastos crecientes. Según el artículo, también hay una migración de residentes hacia fuera desde hace más de una década. Por ello, el nuevo gobernador asumirá el cargo con la expectativa de que el gobierno funcione mejor. El cambio de partido en la gobernación es relevante porque el último gobernador demócrata dejó el cargo en 2002.
Resumen elaborado por Minuto 24 con ayuda de inteligencia artificial a partir de la noticia publicada por NPR — News. Puede contener imprecisiones: ante cualquier duda, consulta la fuente original.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, has won the race for governor of Alaska and will replace the outgoing Republican. Here he's seen at a polling station at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Election Day. Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media hide caption
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative from the small island community of Sitka, won the race for Alaska governor, according to a race call by the Associated Press. At 37, he'll be the youngest governor in state history.
Kreiss-Tomkins will replace outgoing Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a term-limited Republican who has been governor since 2018. The state's last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who left office in 2002.
Kreiss-Tomkins, known by his initials JKT, made his "high-energy, bipartisan, problem-solving approach" a centerpiece of his campaign.
He's said he plans to build an administration of Democrats, Republicans and independents and described himself at a debate as a "man of the middle." He was endorsed by three former governors — a Democrat, a Republican and an independent — along with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Alaskans have had enough of zero-sum partisan politics, he said in an interview just before voting at a precinct in Anchorage on Election Day.
"I strongly believe people just want things to work, and want people to work together," Kreiss-Tomkins said.
The AP race call came after over a week of counting votes, including those coming in by mail and from remote parts of the state. In the ranked-choice system the state uses, he faced three Republican candidates, including one backed by President Trump. Winning requires getting a majority of the votes.
Voters were also facing a question on the ballot about whether to scrap that unique, ranked-choice system. That proposal failed, according to another AP race call, keeping the system in place.
With Kreiss-Tomkins' win and others in the midterms, Democrats will hold 30 governors' offices across the country, up from 24 now.
Kreiss-Tomkins will take office in a state where voters have loudly complained that things aren't working as they should.
Rising costs and relatively flat state funding have forced schools to close and class sizes to rise. Already-high costs for food, fuel and housing have risen sharply, and a looming shortage of easily accessible natural gas near the state's population centers is threatening to push prices higher. And Alaskans have been migrating out of the state for more than a decade.
The Republicans in the race were Trump-backed business owner Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.
Kreiss-Tomkins is set to take office at noon Dec. 7.
Eric Stone covers state government for Alaska Public Media.
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