Alaska Republicans to lose House majority to coalition

With 99.55 percent of precincts reporting in the state, it appears the Alaska House Majority will be in new hands at the start of the January session.

Numerically speaking, a majority of House seats were retained by Republicans, the inclusion of three of these in a bipartisan caucus was announced the day after the election. For the first time in decades this will shift the chamber over to a Democrat-led majority. Seventeen Democrats and two independent representatives bring their total number to 22.

Among those joining this new majority will be District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan), who won...