Gross drops out in Alaska race; only 3 left
JUNEAU, Alaska — A top Alaska elections official said Tuesday that the fifth-place finisher in the special primary for Alaska’s U.S. House seat will not advance to an August special election following the withdrawal of independent Al Gross, who was in third place.
Gail Fenumiai, director of the Division of Elections, said that’s because the withdrawal occurred less than 64 days before the Aug. 16 election. Fenumiai said Gross withdrew on Tuesday and that the division would remove his name from the ballot.
“Trust that I am making the right decision,” Gross said in a statement to supporters Tuesday.
Gross, an orthopedic surgeon, was behind former Gov. Sarah Palin and businessman Nick Begich, both Republicans, and ahead of Democrat Mary Peltola, a former state lawmaker.
State elections officials planned a final ballot count Tuesday and aim to certify the special primary by Saturday.
This was the first election under a system approved by voters that scraps party primaries and institutes ranked-choice voting in general elections.
The candidate currently in fifth place is Republican Tara Sweeney, who was an assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Trump administration.
Her campaign on social media said Sweeney “is currently visiting an area of the state inaccessible by phone or email. When she returns, we’ll make a campaign update.”
Sweeney’s campaign manager did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the ballot decision outlined by Fenumiai.