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United States Senate election in Alaska, 2026

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2022
U.S. Senate, Alaska
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Top-four primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 1, 2026
Primary: August 18, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Alaska

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
U.S. Senate, Alaska
U.S. SenateAt-large
Alaska elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

Voters in Alaska will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 18, 2026. The filing deadline is June 1, 2026. The election will fill the Class II Senate seat held by Daniel S. Sullivan (R), who first took office in 2015.

On January 12, 2026, former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D) announced her entry into the race.[1] She was first elected in a special election in 2022, re-elected for a full term that year, and defeated in 2024. These were among the first elections in Alaska's history where the state used ranked-choice voting to determine a winner.

Alaska began using ranked-choice voting as a result of a 2020 ballot measure, which passed with 51% of the vote in favor and 49% against. In this new system, the four candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. In the general election, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If, in the initial count, no candidate receives 50% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are reallocated based on how those voters ranked the remaining candidates. This process continues until a candidate has at least 50% of the vote. Alaska is one of three states, along with Hawaii and Maine, to use RCV. Washington, D.C., also uses it. Eighteen states have banned RCV, and 13 have localities that use it, while it is not in use statewide.

In 2024, an indirect initiated state statute to repeal ranked-choice voting appeared on the ballot and was defeated by just 743 votes or 0.24% of the vote. This was the narrowest result for a ballot measure in Alaska's history. Another measure to repeal ranked-choice voting will appear on the ballot alongside this election.

The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate in the 120th Congress. Thirty-three of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are up for election, and another two seats are up for special election. Democrats hold 13 of the seats up for election, and Republicans hold 22.

Currently, Republicans have a 53-45 majority in the chamber.[2] To read more about the U.S. Senate elections taking place this year, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on August 18, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate Alaska

Incumbent Daniel S. Sullivan, Dustin Darden, Richard Grayson, and Mary Peltola are running in the primary for U.S. Senate Alaska on August 18, 2026.


Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Alaska

Election information in Alaska: Aug. 18, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: July 19, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by July 19, 2026
  • Online: July 19, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 8, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Aug. 8, 2026
  • Online: Aug. 8, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 18, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Aug. 18, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Aug. 3, 2026 to Aug. 18, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (AKT/HT)

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 has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Daniel S. Sullivan Republican Party $7,365,342 $2,262,211 $5,834,874 As of December 31, 2025
Mary Peltola Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Dustin Darden Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Richard Grayson Green Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[3] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[4] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.


United States Senate election in Alaska, 2026 polls
PollDatesPeltolaSullivanUndecidedSample sizeMargin of error
48466
1,988 RV
± 2.2%
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[5]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[6][7][8]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Alaska, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
3/3/20262/24/20262/17/20262/10/2026
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Alaska in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Alaska, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Alaska U.S. Senate All candidates N/A 100 6/1/2026 Source


Election history

The section below details election results for this state's U.S. Senate elections dating back to 2016.

2022

See also: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Alaska

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Lisa Murkowski in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.


Total votes: 263,027
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate Alaska

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate Alaska on August 16, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski (R)
 
45.0
 
85,794
Image of Kelly Tshibaka
Kelly Tshibaka (R)
 
38.5
 
73,414
Image of Patricia Chesbro
Patricia Chesbro (D) Candidate Connection
 
6.8
 
12,989
Image of Buzz Kelley
Buzz Kelley (R)
 
2.1
 
4,055
Pat Nolin (R)
 
1.1
 
2,004
Image of Edgar Blatchford
Edgar Blatchford (D)
 
1.0
 
1,981
Image of Ivan Taylor
Ivan Taylor (D)
 
1.0
 
1,897
Image of Samuel Merrill
Samuel Merrill (R)
 
0.8
 
1,529
Image of Sean Thorne
Sean Thorne (L)
 
0.7
 
1,399
Image of Shoshana Gungurstein
Shoshana Gungurstein (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
853
Image of Joe Stephens
Joe Stephens (Alaskan Independence Party) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
805
Image of John Schiess
John Schiess (R)
 
0.4
 
734
Image of Dustin Darden
Dustin Darden (Alaskan Independence Party)
 
0.3
 
649
Image of Kendall Shorkey
Kendall Shorkey (R)
 
0.3
 
627
Image of Karl Speights
Karl Speights (R) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
613
Jeremy Keller (Independent)
 
0.2
 
405
Image of Sid Hill
Sid Hill (Independent)
 
0.1
 
274
Image of Huhnkie Lee
Huhnkie Lee (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
0.1
 
238
David Darden (Independent)
 
0.1
 
198

Total votes: 190,458
Candidate Connection = 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

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Alaska

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Alaska on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Daniel S. Sullivan
Daniel S. Sullivan (R)
 
53.9
 
191,112
Image of Al Gross
Al Gross (Nonpartisan)
 
41.2
 
146,068
Image of John Howe
John Howe (Alaskan Independence Party) Candidate Connection
 
4.7
 
16,806
Jed Whittaker (G) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
Image of Sid Hill
Sid Hill (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
Karen Nanouk (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
601

Total votes: 354,587
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Alaska

Incumbent Daniel S. Sullivan advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Alaska on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Daniel S. Sullivan
Daniel S. Sullivan
 
100.0
 
65,257

Total votes: 65,257
Candidate Connection = 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

Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election

Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. Senate Alaska

Al Gross and John Howe defeated Edgar Blatchford and Chris Cumings in the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. Senate Alaska on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Al Gross
Al Gross
 
79.9
 
50,047
Image of John Howe
John Howe Candidate Connection
 
6.6
 
4,165
Image of Edgar Blatchford
Edgar Blatchford
 
8.7
 
5,463
Chris Cumings
 
4.8
 
2,989

Total votes: 62,664
Candidate Connection = 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

2016

U.S. Senate, Alaska General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngLisa Murkowski Incumbent 44.4% 138,149
     Libertarian Joe Miller 29.2% 90,825
     Independent Margaret Stock 13.2% 41,194
     Democratic Ray Metcalfe 11.6% 36,200
     Independent Breck Craig 0.8% 2,609
     Independent Ted Gianoutsos 0.6% 1,758
     N/A Write-in 0.2% 706
Total Votes 311,441
Source: Alaska Secretary of State




Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.


See also: Presidential voting trends in Alaska and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Alaska, 2026
DistrictIncumbentPVI
Alaska's At-LargeNick BegichR+6

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Alaska
DistrictKamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
Alaska's At-Large41.0%55.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Ballotpedia could not produce this analysis for Alaska, which does not have counties but rather 19 boroughs and one unorganized borough. Presidential election results are not recorded by borough, but rather using 40 election districts throughout the state. Overall, Alaska was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Historical voting trends

Alaska presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 1 Democratic win
  • 16 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Alaska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Alaska.

U.S. Senate election results in Alaska
RaceWinnerRunner up
202253.7%Republican Party46.3%Republican Party
202053.9%Republican Party41.2%Grey.png (Independent)
201644.5%Republican Party29.2%Libertarian Party
201448.0%Republican Party45.8%Democratic Party
201039.5%Republican Party35.5%Republican Party
Average47.939.6

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Alaska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Alaska.

Gubernatorial election results in Alaska
RaceWinnerRunner up
202250.4%Republican Party24.3%Democratic Party
201851.4%Republican Party44.4%Democratic Party
201448.1%Grey.png (Independent)45.9%Republican Party
201059.1%Republican Party37.7%Democratic Party
200648.3%Republican Party41.0%Democratic Party
Average51.538.7
See also: Party control of Alaska state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Alaska's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Alaska
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 1 3
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 1 3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Alaska's top three state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Alaska, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Mike Dunleavy
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Nancy Dahlstrom
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Stephen Cox

State legislature

Alaska State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 9
     Republican Party 11
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 20

Alaska House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 14
     Republican Party 21
     Nonpartisan 4
     Undeclared 1
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

Trifecta control

Alaska Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor I I R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R I I I I R R R R R R R
Senate S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R S S S
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D S S S S S S S

The table below details demographic data in Alaska and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Alaska
Alaska United States
Population 733,391 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 571,238 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 60.7% 63.4%
Black/African American 3.1% 12.4%
Asian 6.4% 5.8%
Native American 13.8% 0.9%
Pacific Islander 0.6% 0.4%
Other (single race) 2.2% 6.6%
Multiple 12.2% 10.7%
Hispanic/Latino 7.1% 19%
Education
High school graduation rate 93.5% 89.4%
College graduation rate 31.2% 35%
Income
Median household income $89,336 $78,538
Persons below poverty level 10.2% 12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

See also

Alaska 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Alaska Public, "Mary Peltola enters Alaska U.S. Senate race," January 12, 2026
  2. Both independent U.S. senators — Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine) — caucus with the Democrats.
  3. For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
  4. Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
  5. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  6. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  7. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  8. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Senators
Representatives
Republican Party (3)