Edgar Blatchford
Edgar Blatchford (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Alaska. He lost in the primary on August 16, 2022.
Biography
Edgar Blatchford earned master's degrees in public administration from Harvard University, in globalization from Dartmouth College, and in journalism from Columbia University.[1] Blatchford's career experience includes working owning Seward Phoenix Log & Tundra Drums and working as an associate professor with the University of Alaska at Anchorage.[1][2][3]
2022 battleground election
Nineteen candidates ran in the top-four Senate primary in Alaska on August 16, 2022. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R), Kelly Tshibaka (R), Patricia Chesbro (D), and Buzz Kelley (R) advanced to the general election.
This was the first time the top-four primary was used in a Senate race since Alaska voters approved the concept in 2020. Under this system, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, run in a single primary election. The four candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, where the winner is decided using ranked-choice voting. To learn more about this election system, click here.
The 19 candidates included eight Republicans, three Democrats, one Libertarian, five independents, and two Alaskan Independence Party candidates.
FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver wrote it was likely at least two Republican candidates and a Democratic one would advance to the general election. [4]
Murkowski, the incumbent since 2002, had the endorsements of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), fellow Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R), and Sens. Joe Manchin (D) and Kyrsten Sinema (D).[5][6][7][8]
Tshibaka, a former commissioner at the Alaska Department of Administration had the endorsements of former President Donald Trump (R) and the Alaska Republican Party.[9][10]
At the time of the primary, Chesbro was an educator from Palmer, and Kelley was a retired mechanic from Wasilla.[1][11]
Other candidates who reported raising funds for the election or had been named in public polling were:
- Huhnkie Lee (I), a computer programmer and attorney;[1]
- Shoshana Gungurstein (I), a businesswoman;[12]
- Sean Thorne (L), a U.S. Army veteran;[13]
- and Dustin Darden (Alaskan Independence Party), a maintenance worker and 2018 candidate for the Alaska House of Representatives.[14]
At the time of the primary, three election forecasters rated the general election Solid or Safe Republican.
Murkowski's father, Frank Murkowski (R), was senator from 1981 to 2002, when he resigned to become governor of Alaska. After taking office, the elder Murkowski appointed his daughter to the U.S. Senate seat. In 2010, after losing the Republican nomination, Lisa Murkowski successfully ran for re-election as a write-in candidate. As of 2022, she was one of two U.S. Senators, alongside South Carolina's Strom Thurmond in 1954, to have been elected as a write-in candidate.
Elections
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.
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Total votes: 263,027 |
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 = 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 | ||
| ✔ |  | Lisa Murkowski (R) | 45.0 | 85,794 |
| ✔ |  | Kelly Tshibaka (R) | 38.5 | 73,414 |
| ✔ |  | Patricia Chesbro (D) | 6.8 | 12,989 |
| ✔ |  | Buzz Kelley (R) | 2.1 | 4,055 |
| Pat Nolin (R) | 1.1 | 2,004 | ||
 | Edgar Blatchford (D) | 1.0 | 1,981 | |
 | Ivan Taylor (D) | 1.0 | 1,897 | |
 | Samuel Merrill (R) | 0.8 | 1,529 | |
 | Sean Thorne (L) | 0.7 | 1,399 | |
 | Shoshana Gungurstein (Independent) | 0.4 | 853 | |
 | Joe Stephens (Alaskan Independence Party) | 0.4 | 805 | |
 | John Schiess (R) | 0.4 | 734 | |
 | Dustin Darden (Alaskan Independence Party) | 0.3 | 649 | |
 | Kendall Shorkey (R) | 0.3 | 627 | |
 | Karl Speights (R) | 0.3 | 613 | |
| Jeremy Keller (Independent) | 0.2 | 405 | ||
 | Sid Hill (Independent) | 0.1 | 274 | |
 | Huhnkie Lee (Independent) | 0.1 | 238 | |
| David Darden (Independent) | 0.1 | 198 | ||
| Total votes: 190,458 | |||
| = 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
- Sam Little (R)
- Elvi Gray-Jackson (D)
- Shellie Wyatt (Alaskan Independence Party)
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.
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[15] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[16] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.
| U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of books | Filing deadline |
| Year-end 2021 | 12/31/2021 | 1/31/2022 |
| April quarterly | 3/31/2022 | 4/15/2022 |
| July quarterly | 6/30/2022 | 7/15/2022 |
| October quarterly | 9/30/2022 | 10/15/2022 |
| Pre-general | 10/19/2022 | 10/27/2022 |
| Post-general | 11/28/2022 | 12/08/2022 |
| Year-end 2022 | 12/31/2022 | 1/31/2023 |
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Murkowski | Republican Party | $11,296,273 | $10,729,705 | $657,686 | As of December 31, 2022 |
| Edgar Blatchford | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Patricia Chesbro | Democratic Party | $188,577 | $180,947 | $7,630 | As of December 31, 2022 |
| Ivan Taylor | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Buzz Kelley | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Samuel Merrill | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Pat Nolin | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| John Schiess | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Kendall Shorkey | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Karl Speights | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Kelly Tshibaka | Republican Party | $6,011,432 | $5,960,180 | $51,252 | As of December 31, 2022 |
| Dustin Darden | Alaskan Independence Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Joe Stephens | Alaskan Independence Party | $71 | $71 | $0 | As of December 31, 2022 |
| Sean Thorne | Libertarian Party | $4,842 | $4,842 | $0 | As of August 26, 2022 |
| David Darden | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Shoshana Gungurstein | Independent | $32,700 | $32,480 | $-44 | As of November 11, 2022 |
| Sid Hill | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jeremy Keller | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Huhnkie Lee | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. 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." |
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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.[17][18][19]
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.
- Open Secrets - United States Senate election in Alaska, 2022
- Federal Election Commission - United States Senate election in Alaska, 2022
Endorsements
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.
2021
See also: Anchorage School District, Alaska, elections (2021)
General election
General election for Anchorage School District Board of Education Seat E
The following candidates ran in the general election for Anchorage School District Board of Education Seat E on April 6, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Pat Higgins (Nonpartisan) | 32.6 | 21,407 |
| Sami Graham (Nonpartisan) | 32.1 | 21,038 | ||
 | Alisha Hilde (Nonpartisan) | 12.6 | 8,265 | |
| Rachel Blakeslee (Nonpartisan) | 9.8 | 6,402 | ||
| Edgar Blatchford (Nonpartisan) | 8.0 | 5,267 | |
| Nial Sherwood Williams (Nonpartisan) | 4.0 | 2,653 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 604 | ||
| Total votes: 65,636 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020
United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)
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 | ||
| ✔ |  | Daniel S. Sullivan (R) | 53.9 | 191,112 |
 | Al Gross (Nonpartisan) | 41.2 | 146,068 | |
 | John Howe (Alaskan Independence Party) | 4.7 | 16,806 | |
| Jed Whittaker (G) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| 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 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 | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel S. Sullivan | 100.0 | 65,257 |
| Total votes: 65,257 | |||
| = 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 | ||
| ✔ | | Al Gross | 79.9 | 50,047 |
| ✔ | | John Howe | 6.6 | 4,165 |
| Edgar Blatchford | 8.7 | 5,463 | |
| Chris Cumings | 4.8 | 2,989 | ||
| Total votes: 62,664 | |||
| = 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
- David Darden (Independent)
- Larry Barnes (Independent)
- David Matheny (Independent)
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated Alaska's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski defeated Ray Metcalfe (D), Joe Miller (L), Breck Craig (I), Ted Gianoutsos (I), and Margaret Stock (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Murkowski defeated Paul Kendall, Thomas Lamb, and Bob Lochner in the Republican primary, while Metcalfe defeated Edgar Blatchford to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 16, 2016.[20][21]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Lisa 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 | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lisa Murkowski Incumbent |
71.5% | 39,545 | ||
| Bob Lochner | 15.3% | 8,480 | ||
| Paul Kendall | 7.7% | 4,272 | ||
| Thomas Lamb | 5.4% | 2,996 | ||
| Total Votes | 55,293 | |||
| Source: Alaska Division of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ray Metcalfe |
60.1% | 15,228 | ||
| Edgar Blatchford | 39.9% | 10,090 | ||
| Total Votes | 25,318 | |||
| Source: Alaska Division of Elections |
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Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Edgar Blatchford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Edgar Blatchford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Edgar Blatchford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 LinkedIn, "edgar blatchford," accessed August 4, 2022 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Twitter, "EdgarUSSenate," accessed August 4, 2022
- ↑ Facebook, "Edgar Blatchford," accessed August 4, 2022
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Why Republicans Are Favored To Win The House, But Not The Senate," June 30, 2022
- ↑ Business Insider, "McConnell says it's 'important' for Sen. Lisa Murkowski to win reelection and defeat her Trump-backed opponent," April 7, 2022
- ↑ Anchorage Daily News, "Sen. Sullivan backs Murkowski but says he hasn’t yet endorsed a candidate in Alaska’s U.S. House race," April 19, 2022
- ↑ CNN, "Manchin and Murkowski endorse each other during joint interview," accessed July 24, 2022
- ↑ Politico, "Democrats for Murkowski: Alaska Republican counts her fans across the aisle," July 18, 2022
- ↑ Forbes, "Trump Endorses Murkowski Challenger Kelly Tshibaka," June 18, 2021
- ↑ Alaska Republican Party endorses Kelly Tshibaka in the 2022 race for the US Senate seat held by Murkowski, "July 11, 2021
- ↑ Buzz for Alaska, "About," accessed August 29, 2022
- ↑ Juneau Empire, "Independent candidate talks Senate bid," June 14, 2022
- ↑ Pick Sean Thorne, "SEAN THORNE ANNOUNCES U.S. SENATE CAMPAIGN AT EVENT IN WHITTIER," August 12, 2021
- ↑ Must Read Alaska,Democrat mystified: His party left him off the list of candidates," August 3, 2018
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Alaska Senate Races Results," August 16, 2016
