Valley Favors Miller in primary
By Andrew Wellner.
After reviewing last week’s primary election numbers, a few things seem clear — the Valley supports the current oil tax structure and voters here love Joe Miller.
Vote totals aren’t yet official and might still change slightly. The Alaska Division of Elections plans to count the early ballots cast between Aug. 16 and Election Day today, then count absentee and questioned ballots until Sept. 2, after which the election will need to be officially certified.
Miller, the eventual second-place finisher in the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate seat that Mark Begich currently holds, took every Mat-Su district from Butte to Talkeetna to Chickaloon. Percentage-wise, he walked away with 41 percent of the vote. His nearest competitor in Mat-Su — the eventual statewide winner, Dan Sullivan — took just 35 percent. The third major contender, Mead Treadwell, garnered 22 percent. An additional 2 percent went to John Jaramillo.
Miller performed similarly well in Mat-Su the last time he ran for Senate, an election in which he first bested Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary then lost to her write-in campaign in the general.
As for oil taxes, Mat-Su voters preferred the current regime, with 61 percent voting against its repeal. Every single district voted that way.
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Photo Credit: HOMER TRIBUNE / Randi Somers
By Naomi Klouda.
One surprise in the primary election results showed Joe Miller as the favored Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Homer, as well as all other District 31 precincts including Ninilchik, Kasilof and Anchor River.
Miller’s 1,332 votes topped Dan Sullivan’s 948, with Mead Treadwell a distant third at 586. Incumbent Sen. Mark Begich topped all of them in the district results, with 1,430 votes.
Statewide, the No vote, to rescind SB21, was winning after primary election day, 79,980 to 73,184. Even with more than 21,000 outstanding ballots to count, the Vote No camp declared victory.
Miller also conceded to Republican Dan Sullivan, though their spread of difference was just under 7,000 statewide, according to the tally immediately following the primary.
Miller’s campaign director, Randy DeSoto, said Miller made several visits to Homer during his campaign, beginning early in the spring. The Homer/Anchor Point area also had a strong army of volunteers who worked hard, he said.
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