Alaska legislative candidates who dropped out after the August 2026 primary election include, top row from left, Matthew Salisbury in House District 17; Nick Capozzi in House District 23; Donna Anthony in House District 26; and bottom row from left, Doyle Holmes in House District 30; Dennis Robinson in House District 37; and Leo Schafer in Senate District E. (Photos provided by the candidates)
JUNEAU — The field of legislative candidates for Alaska’s general election is set after several candidates dropped out or failed to receive enough votes to advance from the August primary.
The state’s official primary results were certified Monday morning, and the deadline to drop out before the general election was 5 p.m. Monday.
Fifty out of 60 seats in the state Legislature will be on the November ballot. Five races had more than four candidates, meaning at least one contender in each race would be eliminated after the Aug. 18 primary, with only the four top vote-getters advancing to the Nov. 3 general election.
Under Alaska’s nonpartisan open primary system, voters chose one candidate in each race. The four candidates who receive the most votes advance to the ranked choice general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Anchorage Democrat Felix Rivera and Eagle River Republican Sharon Jackson were among the first legislative candidates to withdraw, dropping their bids for state House days after the primary election.
[Final results from Alaska’s 2026 primary election]
Dropouts in races with more than 4 candidates
• House District 23: Eagle River
Republican Nick Capozzi dropped out after finishing fourth in the five-way race, receiving 8.6% of the vote.
“I just didn’t see a viable pathway, so it’s like, I’ll un-crowd the field, let the rest of the candidates fight it out,” Capozzi said.
Republican incumbent Rep. Jamie Allard led the race with 39.8% of the vote, followed by Democrat Jim Arlington with 31.9%. Republican Ruby Jones took third with 13.9%, followed by Capozzi and then Democrat Lee Hammermeister with 5.8% in fifth.
Capozzi said he had promised the District 23 chapter of the Alaska Republican Party, which initially endorsed both him and Allard, that he would withdraw if he fell far behind in the primary. After the results were announced, the District 23 Republicans voted to withdraw their endorsement of Capozzi, he said.
He said he would not, however, endorse Allard, whom he described as “abrasive” and “disruptive,” saying those qualities diminish her effectiveness as a lawmaker.
Instead, Capozzi said he plans to formally endorse Jones.
• House District 37: Aleutian Islands, Bristol Bay, Lake and Peninsula Borough
Two candidates dropped out of the seven-way race in the Southwest Alaska district: Democrat Dennis Robinson and independent Kimberly Johnson.
Robinson, a former Unalaska city council member, finished in fourth place with 15.6% of the vote. His decision to drop out Sunday would have elevated Dillingham independent Kimberly Johnson, the fifth-place finisher with 10.7% of the vote, onto the November ballot.
But Johnson also dropped out of the race, which moved sixth-place finisher Cade Woods, another independent from Dillingham, onto the general election ballot after he earned 9.2% of the vote in the primary.
King Cove Republican Brenda Wilson, the only Republican in the race, led with 22.6% of the vote in the primary. Newhalen Democrat Evelynn Trefon came in second with 19.8%, followed by Aleknagik independent Mark Smith with 17.5%.
Robinson opted to endorse Smith, a former Aleknagik mayor and former owner of rural Alaska fuel logistics company Vitus Energy, he said in a social media post.
Reached by phone, Johnson said she was endorsing Wilson, whom she has worked with in the past, because she believes Wilson will be a strong advocate for improving Alaska’s education system.
King Salmon independent Peter Angasan received 5.2% of the vote, placing seventh in the primary. After both Robinson and Johnson dropped out, he moved up to fifth place, which eliminates him from advancing to the general election.
• House District 30: Big Lake, Talkeetna, Healy and Cantwell
Republican candidates Doyle Holmes and Mike Alexander withdrew from the race for a western Mat-Su district that stretches into the Interior.
Holmes, a former Matanuska-Susitna Borough deputy mayor and longtime borough assembly member, came in fourth place in the primary with 12.9% of the vote. He dropped out of the race late last week. Then Alexander, who finished fifth in the primary with 4.8% of the vote, also opted to drop out Monday.
That left three candidates in the contest to represent the district: incumbent Big Lake Republican Rep. Kevin McCabe; Republican Doug Massie, the former head of Alaska Wildlife Troopers; and Talkeetna Democrat Sandra Loomis, who works in aviation business management.
McCabe led the field in the primary with 32.4% of the vote, followed by Loomis with 29.2% and Massie with 20.6%.
Alexander said there was “not much sense” staying in the race after he earned only 219 votes out of more than 4,800.
Holmes did not respond to an interview request about his decision to drop out.
Other dropouts
• Senate District E: South Anchorage, Girdwood, Whittier
Republican Leo Schafer dropped out of the all-Republican field for a South Anchorage Senate seat.
Incumbent Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel handily led the four-way primary with 62%, followed by Gretchen Stoddard in second place with 19.7%. Schafer came in third place with 9.9% of the vote, ahead of Jace White, who received 8.3%.
• House District 17: Downtown Anchorage and Fairview
Independent Matthew Salisbury dropped out of this Anchorage House race.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Zack Fields received 73.2% of the vote, followed by Republican Daniel Bradley with 20.8% and Salisbury with 6%.
• House District 26: South of Wasilla
Republican Donna Anthony dropped out of the House race representing a district that runs along the north side of Knik Arm between Palmer and Big Lake.
Rep. Steve St. Clair, the Republican incumbent, received 45% of the vote in the primary. Anthony received 28.7%, followed by Democrat Jeanne Toshynski with 26.3%.
• House District 28: Wasilla
Republican Evan Bordenkircher dropped out after receiving 5.8% of the vote in the four-way race to represent part of Wasilla.
Republican incumbent Rep. Elexie Moore led with 34%, followed by Republican Stephen Wright with 31.6% and Democrat Kit Kennedy with 28.6%.
Candidates who did not advance to the general election
• Senate District S: Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Bristol Bay and the Aleutians
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, is running for the state Senate seat currently held by Bethel Democratic Sen. Lyman Hoffman, who is retiring.
Edgmon led the primary with 37.9% of the vote. Republican Darren Deacon followed with 23.9%, Democrat Wassilie “WG” Guy received 18.9% and independent Richard “Rick” Robb received 11.5%.
Independent Wayne Morgan finished fifth with 7.9% and will not advance to the general election.
• House District 29: Part of Palmer area, Sutton, Glacier View and Valdez
The race to represent this district covering the eastern Mat-Su Borough and Valdez drew six candidates.
Palmer Republican challenger Steve Menard led with 39.4% of the vote in the primary. Incumbent Sutton Republican Rep. Garret Nelson, who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the end of 2025, trailed with 23.2%.
Democrat Kimberly Slone came in third with 23.1% and independent Jessica Kusner-Kalarchik followed in fourth with 8%.
Libertarian Candice Frisby and independent Amber Hansen finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, leaving them off the November general election ballot. Frisby received 4.2% of the vote and Hansen received 2%.
Anchorage candidate disqualified by Division of Elections
• House District 22: East Anchorage, northern Muldoon
East Anchorage Republican candidate Jose Tagle was disqualified from appearing on the general election ballot, according to a Division of Elections spokesperson Monday.
The division’s decision comes after the Alaska Public Offices Commission issued a notice last week recommending Tagle not be certified as a candidate, after he failed to provide required personal financial information within the time frame mandated by state law.
Results from the primary showed incumbent Democratic Rep. Ted Eischeid in the lead with 64.2% of the vote and Tagle trailing with 35.8%.
Tagle’s disqualification now leaves Eischeid running unopposed.
