Recount in Anchorage state Senate race reaffirms Republican Cathy Giessel as winner

JUNEAU — A recount of an Anchorage-area state Senate race reaffirmed Republican Cathy Giessel as the winner.

The recount was conducted by the state Division of Elections on Wednesday at the request of Democrat Roselynn Cacy, who was the first of the three candidates in the Senate District E race to be eliminated in the Nov. 8 ranked vote contest. The other candidate in the race was Republican Sen. Roger Holland. The results were announced late Wednesday night.

[All 2022 Alaska general election results]

Cacy had said that she had questions about the recording of votes and that transparency around the process was important to her. In her recount application, she cited a 14-vote difference between her and Holland after a round that took into account such things as the distribution of second choices on ballots that ranked write-ins first.

During the recount, both Cacy and Holland gained two votes in that round compared to certified results but a 14-vote difference remained, according to results released by the division.

[Some rural votes were again left uncounted in Alaska’s statewide election]

Giessel, a former state Senate president, lost her Republican primary to Holland in 2020.

Alaska elections this year were held under a new voter-approved system that instituted open primaries and ranked vote general elections.

Giessel won last month’s election with nearly 57% of the vote.