Incumbent Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz, who also represents Wrangell, grew his lead over Republican challenger Jeremy Bynum, also of Ketchikan, with the final batch of state primary results released Aug. 31. Ortiz leads Bynum 2,174 to 1,812.
The latest results include 890 absentee, early and questioned ballots that state election officials had not tallied on the night of the Aug. 16 primary. Ortiz, an independent, is seeking his fifth term representing southern Southeast in the state House.
The two will face off in the Nov. 8 general election for a two-year term to represent Ketchikan, Wrangell, Prince of Wales Island and Metlakatla.
Ortiz saw his strongest support in Metlakatla, with nearly three-quarters of in-person voters there casting their votes for him in the primary. The reverse held in Coffman Cove, where voters decisively favored Bynum over Ortiz, with Bynum getting about two votes there for every vote cast for Ortiz.
In Wrangell, Ortiz outpolled Bynum 235-212. That count does not include absentee or questioned ballots, which were tallied separately.
Ortiz said the final tally “sets the table for a good race in the fall,” giving him an 8.7% lead over Bynum, though he fell “a little bit short” of his ideal goal of a 10% lead.
“So, there you go, I’ve got work to do ... after the primary, and I will continue to work hard and get out and talk to voters,” he said Aug. 31.
Bynum, who’s making his first run for elected state office, said the results signal that “we got to work a little bit harder on getting our message out there and let people know who I am, right? And let people know that they have an energetic alternative.”
“We’re in it to win it, and it’s just some good motivation to work hard,” he added. “So, that’s what I’m looking to do, and that’s what the Bynum campaign is all about, is getting out there, spreading a positive message, and having a can-do attitude.”
Bynum serves on the Ketchikan Gateway Borough assembly.
Glenn Wright, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, said in a phone interview Aug. 30 that he’s not surprised Bynum attracted such a strong share of the vote running against a four-term incumbent, considering that the district has consistently elected Republicans in federal races.
“Given that (fact), and given his record as a moderate, and especially given the nationalization of politics at the local and state levels that a lot of people will tend to vote with their party, I’m not super surprised to see a strong challenger,” he said.
Ortiz likely will get even more of the vote in the November election, when voters tend to be more politically moderate, Wright said. “In general, first of all, voters in general elections tend to be more moderate than voters in primaries. And I think that that is still going to be true even under the new system here in Alaska,” said Wright. “My guess is that Ortiz will benefit from that, as somebody who I think has presented himself — and I think quite accurately — as an independent and a moderate.”
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