KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
There has been no change in the District 36 election report all day today. The numbers that came in at 12:30 this morning remain standing, though the number of absentee votes remaining to be counted has been revealed to be 1,381.
Republican Alan Austerman has a thin lead over Democrat Andy Lundquist. With 13 of 14 precincts reporting, Austerman had 2,047 votes to Lundquist’s 1,936, a difference of only 111. That is less than 3 percentage points difference.
Austerman says he is not surprised by the closeness of the race.
Lundquist last night said he seemed comfortable with waiting a little while longer for the general election results.
Austerman, who in the past has represented Kodiak in both the state house and state senate, gave the newcomer Lundquist credit for a job well done.
Early absentee-in-person voting was brisk in Kodiak over the past two weeks, resulting in 1,381 votes left to count. There is no word from the state Division of Elections when that might be done, but it could be as late as November 21st.
This is the second time residents of Alaska House District 36, which includes the Kodiak Island Borough and portions of the Lake and Peninsula Borough, have had to wait for final results. It was weeks after the August primary election before Lundquist was declared the winner of the Democratic contest over Dave Kaplan.
