Chilkat Valley voters turned out in relatively high numbers for Tuesday’s statewide primary election, and bucked some statewide trends.
In the election’s most closely watched contest – between Republican U.S. Senate candidates Lisa Murkowski and Tea Party-endorsed challenger Joe Miller – valley voters went strongly for Murkowski, the incumbent.
She beat Miller 206-124 in the downtown precinct and by 9-6 in Klukwan, although Miller won in the Haines Highway precinct, 25-18. At press time this week, Miller was leading but the race was too close to call, with votes from rural areas and absentee ballots still waiting to be tallied.
Also contrary to statewide results, valley residents largely opposed a ballot measure that would require minors to get parental consent for abortions. The initiative was rejected by voters downtown, 312-264, and in the highway precinct, 37-33, but supported in Klukwan, 19-13. The measure passed statewide.
Ballot measure #1, that would have put lobbying restrictions on municipalities and limited certain people from holding government contracts, was defeated soundly in Haines and Alaska. Precinct votes against it included downtown, 370-194; highway, 48-23 and Klukwan, 22-9.
Local voters followed statewide patterns in the race for party gubernatorial nominations. Of 378 Republicans casting votes for governor candidates, 316 supported incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell. Parnell won all three precincts handily.
In all three local precincts, voters who used the open ballot gave Democrat Ethan Berkowitz the nod over fellow Democrat Hollis French, although the vote was close downtown, 96-91. Other precinct margins were 19-5 on Haines Highway and 7-2 in Klukwan.
Berkowitz also won among Democrats statewide.
In the race for the lieutenant governor’s slot on the Republican ballot, valley voters lined up with ones statewide in supporting Mead Treadwell over Jay Ramras, although by slimmer margins.
Treadwell beat Ramras downtown 128-199, and up the highway, 16-15. Klukwan supported Ramras over Treadwell, 9-1.
Democrat Diane Benson, candidate for lieutenant governor, beat all comers in all three local precincts on the open ballot. She’ll face Treadwell in the November general election.
In local precincts, Scott McAdams was the top Democratic vote-getter for the open U.S. Senate. Local Republicans widely favored incumbent Rep. Don Young over challenger Sheldon Fisher, 244-45 downtown, 36-7 on the highway and 13-1 in Klukwan.
Statewide, 27.5 percent of voters turned out for the election. That compares to a 30 percent turnout in the downtown precinct, 40 percent turnout in Klukwan and 23 percent in the highway precinct.