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Mayoral election in Anchorage, Alaska (2024)
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← 2021
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| 2024 Anchorage elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: January 26, 2024 |
| General election: April 2, 2024 Runoff election: May 14, 2024 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2024 |
Suzanne LaFrance won the nonpartisan general runoff election for mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, on May 14, 2024. LaFrance defeated incumbent David Bronson, 53.5% to 46.5%.
Bronson and LaFrance advanced to the runoff from the nonpartisan general election on April 2. LaFrance received 36.3% of the vote and Bronson received 35.0%. The two advanced to a runoff because neither received more than 45% of the vote.
LaFrance was a former member of the Anchorage Assembly and chaired the Assembly during the first two years of Bronson's term.[1] LaFrance said she was running to "bring people together and get our future back on track." LaFrance said her business experience and time on the assembly gave her the necessary knowledge and skillset to turn Anchorage around.[2] LaFrance said she would be a more effective mayor than Bronson: "My pitch is that we can get the basics right, and we can build a better future for everyone in our community."[3]
First elected in 2021, Bronson ran on his first-term record. Bronson said he opposed the Anchorage Assembly's efforts to increase tax and spending rates and worked to reopen the city following the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Bronson said he had the "relentless commitment, vision, and a whole lot of heart" needed for the office.[5] Bronson said he would act as a more effective check on the Assembly than LaFrance: "My administration is standing between single party governance in the city...and the balance that we need within our government."[6]
Although the election was nonpartisan, Bronson was a registered Republican and LaFrance was a registered nonpartisan. The Alaska Republican Party endorsed Bronson and the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed LaFrance.[7][8]
As of April 2024, 63 mayors in the 100 largest cities by population were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 were affiliated with the Republican Party, one was affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four were independents, five identified as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two had unknown partisan affiliations.
As of 2024, Anchorage had term limits for the position of mayor. Mayors could serve two consecutive three-year terms and could run again after a three year break.
This page covers the May 14, 2024, runoff. Click here for more on the general election.
Candidates and election results
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Anchorage
Suzanne LaFrance defeated incumbent David Bronson in the general runoff election for Mayor of Anchorage on May 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Suzanne LaFrance (Nonpartisan) | 53.5 | 42,597 |
 | David Bronson (Nonpartisan) | 46.5 | 36,961 | |
| Total votes: 79,558 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Anchorage
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Anchorage on April 2, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Suzanne LaFrance (Nonpartisan) | 36.2 | 25,904 |
| ✔ | | David Bronson (Nonpartisan) | 35.6 | 25,431 |
 | Bill Popp (Nonpartisan) | 16.7 | 11,968 | |
 | Chris Tuck (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 5,650 | |
 | Jenny Di Grappa (Nonpartisan) | 2.0 | 1,435 | |
| Nick Danger (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 326 | ||
| Phil Isley (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 311 | ||
 | Dustin Darden (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 229 | |
 | Breck Craig (Nonpartisan) | 0.2 | 154 | |
| Darin Colbry (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 88 | ||
| Total votes: 71,496 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Alaska
What was the voter registration deadline?
- In-person: April 14, 2024.
- By mail: Received by April 14, 2024.
- Online: April 14, 2024.
What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?
- In-person: May 4, 2024.
- By mail: Received by May 4, 2024.
- Online: May 4, 2024.
What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?
- In-person: May 14, 2024.
- By mail: Postmarked by May 14, 2024, and received by May 24, 2024.
Was early voting available to all voters? Yes.
What were the early voting start and end dates? Early voting started on April 29, 2024, and ran through Election Day.
Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required? All voters were required to show ID at the polls. The list of accepted forms of ID included both photo and non-photo IDs.
When were polls open on Election Day? Polls opened at 7:00AM Alaska Time and closed at 8:00PM Alaska Time.
Candidate comparison
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
- Mayor of Anchorage (Assumed office: 2021)
Biography: Bronson graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor's in agricultural economics. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Alaska Air National Guard, Bronson worked as a commercial pilot before entering elected politics.
Show sources
Sources: David Bronson campaign website, "Home page," accessed February 5, 2024, Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor's Photos," accessed February 5, 2024, Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor on February 3, 2024," accessed February 5, 2024; David Bronson campaign website, "About Dave," accessed February 5, 2024
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Anchorage in 2024.
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
- Anchorage Assembly, District 6 (2017–2023)
Biography: LaFrance obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Portland and her master's degree from Purdue University. Before entering elected politics, LaFrance was a businesswoman with experience in project management, marketing, and telecommunications.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Anchorage in 2024.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign advertisements
This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.
David Bronson
View more ads here:
Suzanne LaFrance
View more ads here:
Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia researchers did not identify any candidate websites that provide endorsement information. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
Election spending
Campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Click here to access those reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[9][10][11]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Election context
Ballot access requirements
Any registered voter who had been a resident of Anchorage for at least two years as of election day was eligible to file for this office.[12][13]
Mayoral election history
2021
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Anchorage
David Bronson defeated Forrest Dunbar in the general runoff election for Mayor of Anchorage on May 11, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Bronson (Nonpartisan) | 50.7 | 45,937 |
 | Forrest Dunbar (Nonpartisan) | 49.3 | 44,744 | |
| Total votes: 90,681 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Anchorage
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Anchorage on April 6, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Bronson (Nonpartisan) | 33.0 | 24,567 |
| ✔ | | Forrest Dunbar (Nonpartisan) | 30.9 | 23,054 |
 | Bill Falsey (Nonpartisan) | 12.8 | 9,551 | |
 | Bill Evans (Nonpartisan) | 9.5 | 7,073 | |
 | Mike Robbins (Nonpartisan) | 7.7 | 5,766 | |
 | George Martinez (Nonpartisan) | 3.7 | 2,753 | |
| Heather Herndon (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 451 | ||
| Jeffrey T. Brown (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 307 | ||
| Anna Anthony (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 306 | ||
| Albert Swank Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 231 | ||
| Joe Westfall (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 83 | ||
| Jacob Kern (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 52 | ||
| Reza Momin (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 52 | ||
| Jacob Versteeg (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 43 | ||
| Darin Colbry (Nonpartisan) | 0.0 | 31 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 205 | ||
| Total votes: 74,525 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dustin Darden (Nonpartisan)
2018
General election
General election for Mayor of Anchorage
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ethan Berkowitz (Nonpartisan) | 55.4 | 42,639 |
 | Rebecca Logan (Nonpartisan) | 37.1 | 28,560 | |
| Dustin Darden (Nonpartisan) | 2.0 | 1,502 | |
| Paul Kendall (Nonpartisan) | 1.5 | 1,171 | ||
 | Timothy Huit (Nonpartisan) | 1.2 | 897 | |
| Ron Stafford (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 468 | ||
 | Nelson Godoy (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 446 | |
| Matthew Mendonsa (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 408 | ||
| Jacob Kern (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 272 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 543 | ||
| Total votes: 76,906 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
| Mayor of Anchorage, Runoff Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Ethan Berkowitz |
60.7% | 42,835 | |
| Amy Demboski | 39.3% | 27,681 | |
| Total Votes | 70,516 | ||
| Source: Municipality of Anchorage, "Official general election results," accessed May 20, 2015 | |||
| Mayor of Anchorage, General Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Ethan Berkowitz |
37% | 20,451 | |
| Amy Demboski |
24.1% | 13,337 | |
| Andrew Halcro | 21.6% | 11,956 | |
| Dan Coffey | 14.4% | 7,960 | |
| Dustin Darden | 1% | 571 | |
| Lance Ahern | 0.7% | 395 | |
| Paul Bauer | 0.4% | 217 | |
| Timothy Huit | 0.2% | 120 | |
| Write-in | 0.2% | 120 | |
| Jacob Seth Kern | 0.1% | 57 | |
| Christopher Jamison | 0.1% | 45 | |
| Samuel Joseph Speziale III | 0.1% | 31 | |
| Total Votes | 54,275 | ||
| Source: Municipality of Anchorage - Official general election results | |||
Note: Although Spencer Halgren was on the official candidate list, his name did not appear on the official results.
Mayoral partisanship
Thirty-four of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2024. Once mayors elected in 2024, assumed office Democrats held 65 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans 25, Libertarians held one, independents held two, and nonpartisan mayors held four. Three mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2024:[14]
- Anchorage, Alaska: Nonpartisan Suzanne LaFrance defeated incumbent Republican David Bronson in the runoff election on May 14. LaFrance assumed office on July 1.
- Tulsa, Oklahoma: Democrat Monroe Nichols was elected to succeed Republican G. T. Bynum on November 5. Nichols assumed office on December 1.
- Las Vegas, Nevada: Democrat Shelley Berkley was elected to succeed nonpartisan Carolyn Goodman on November 5. Berkley assumed office on December 4.
- Scottsdale, Arizona: Republican Lisa Borowsky defeated incumbent Independent David Ortega on November 5. Borowsky assumed office on January 14, 2025.
- Stockton, California: Democrat Christina Fugazi was elected to succeed Republican Kevin Lincoln II on November 5. Fugazi assumed office on January 1, 2025.
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Republican Sid Edwards defeated incumbent Democrat Sharon Weston Broome on December 7. Edwards assumed office on January 1, 2025.
- San Antonio, Texas: On September 14, 2024, The San Antonio Express-News reported that mayor Ron Nirenberg, who had previously called himself an independent, had announced that he was a Democrat.[15]
2024 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This was a battleground election. Other 2024 battleground elections included:
- California's 27th Congressional District election, 2024
- California's 31st Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
- Los Angeles County District Attorney election, 2024 (March 5 nonpartisan primary)
See also
| Anchorage, Alaska | Alaska | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Public Media, "Former Anchorage Assembly chair Suzanne LaFrance to run for mayor next year," May 9, 2023
- ↑ Suzanne LaFrance campaign website, "Home page," accessed February 6, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Public Media, "Bronson and LaFrance prepare for runoff in Anchorage mayoral election," April 2, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Public Media, "Two years into his tenure, Anchorage Mayor Bronson reflects on homeless policy, shelter plans and Assembly relationship," August 2, 2023
- ↑ Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor on August 6, 2023," accessed February 5, 2024
- ↑ The Northern Light, "After Anchorage’s municipal election, Dave Bronson and Suzanne LaFrance tee-up for a runoff challenge," April 9, 2024
- ↑ Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor on February 1, 2024," accessed February 6, 2024
- ↑ Twitter, "The Alaska Democratic Party on January 6, 2024," accessed February 6, 2024
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Anchorage Municipal Charter, Section 5.01," accessed February 5, 2024
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Anchorage Municipal Code, Section 28.30.020," accessed February 5, 2024
- ↑ As of January 7, 2025, the party affiliation of one mayor elected in 2024 was unknown. Ballotpedia contacted El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson's campaign in December to inquire about his party affiliation and had not yet received a reply. As incumbent Oscar Leeser was a Democrat, this decreased the net gain for Democrats from two to one.
- ↑ [San Antonio Express-News, "‘I’m a Democrat’: Mayor Ron Nirenberg campaigns for Kamala Harris, embraces party label," September 14, 2024]
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