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The KUCB Newsroom provides newscasts Monday through Thursday at noon and 5 PM on KUCB Radio. You can find many of our local news stories here.

Unalaskans Help Reelect Edgmon, Other Incumbents

Laura Kraegel/KUCB

Election Day brought nearly 900 Unalaskans to the polls, or about 45 percent of registered voters.

The state Division of Elections still has to canvas about 180 absentee and questioned ballots from the island. But so far, Unalaska hasn't followed a particular party line or conformed to state and nationwide voting trends.

In the presidential race, Unalaska seems to have sided with Demo?crat Hillary Clinton. She holds 55 percent of the local vote, despite losing at the state and national levels.

But outstanding ballots could swing the precinct for Republican Donald Trump, who trails Clinton by nearly 150 votes. 

"I don't like Hillary Clinton," said Maik Buchholz of Unalaska. "I don't think she's always truthful. For me, Donald Trump ... If I had another person to vote for, I would. But with all the other candidates, it's not any better."

Down the ballot, Unalaskans voted for another Democrat and two Republicans, according to preliminary tallies.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski won the precinct easily, with more than double the votes of her Democrat and Libertarian challengers. The incumbent Republican won across the state as well.

But in the races for the U.S House of Representatives and Alaska House District 37, local voters were more evenly split than statewide voters.

Incumbent Congressman Don Young won narrowly in Unalaska, edging Democrat Steve Lindbeck by just four votes. Unalaskans also voted to send Democrat Bryce Edgmon back to Juneau. He earned 29 vo?tes more than Republican newcomer William Weatherby. 

In both races, Alaska voters reelected the incumbents by comfortable margins.

Laura Kraegel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2020. She was KUCB's news director starting in 2019. We are proud to have her back in the spring of 2023 filling in as an interim reporter for KUCB.
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