Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins wins Alaska governorship, first Democrat elected since 1998

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat and former Alaska state legislator, has been officially declared the winner of the race for governor of Alaska. The Times of Israel reported that he is the first member of his party to be elected to the post in the state since 1998, and that he beat three Republican candidates, one of whom had the endorsement of US President Donald Trump.

The Israeli news site ynet also carried the result, saying in a short alert on its Telegram channel that the election of a Democratic governor in Alaska had been formally announced, the first such result since 1998. According to The Times of Israel, Kreiss-Tomkins will serve alongside Zac Johnson, an independent, as his lieutenant governor, and he is due to take the oath of office in December.

Part of a wider midterm result

The Alaska outcome did not happen in isolation. The Times of Israel described it as one piece of a national swing toward the Democratic Party in the midterm elections, the contests held in the middle of a US president's term, in which many state offices are also decided. That swing, the report said, produced broad Democratic gains in state governments around the country.

With Alaska added, Democrats will hold the governor's office in 30 states, according to the same report. Among them are several states the party took back after long stretches of Republican control, with Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas named as examples.

For readers outside the United States, the position matters because American governors run their states' executive branches. They oversee state agencies, propose state budgets and can sign or veto legislation passed by state legislatures. The number of states a party controls at this level shapes policy on matters that are largely left to the states rather than to the federal government in Washington.

Who Kreiss-Tomkins defeated

The Times of Israel reported that Kreiss-Tomkins prevailed over three Republicans. It identified one of them only as the candidate backed by President Trump, and did not name the others in the material available. A photograph accompanying the report, credited to the Associated Press, showed Kreiss-Tomkins addressing people outside a convention centre in Juneau, the state capital, on June 6, 2026, during the campaign.

His running mate's status as an independent is noted in the report without further detail on how the pairing came about.

Alaska's recent governors

The phrase "first since 1998" refers to elections rather than to time in office. The Times of Israel said the last Democrat to govern Alaska, Tony Knowles, served back-to-back terms and left the governor's office in 2002. That places his final election victory in 1998, the year both outlets cite as the previous Democratic win.

The report also mentions that a governor named Walker held office from 2014 to 2018. It does not give his full name or party affiliation in the text provided, and we have not added them.

Why an Israeli outlet is covering it

Both reports come from Israeli news organisations. The Times of Israel included the result in its running liveblog, alongside other US news items such as an update from the Federal Aviation Administration on flight disruptions. Ynet, one of Israel's most widely read news sites, published its item as a breaking-news alert in Hebrew. Israeli media follow American elections closely because of the weight US political shifts carry for Israel, though neither report linked this particular result to Israeli affairs.

What the reports do not say

Neither report gives vote totals, a margin of victory or turnout figures, so the scale of Kreiss-Tomkins's win is not known from this material. The two Republican opponents other than the Trump-endorsed candidate are not named, and the Trump-endorsed candidate is not named either. No reaction from President Trump, the defeated candidates or Kreiss-Tomkins himself is reported. The Times of Israel gives the swearing-in month as December but not the exact date, and the ynet alert carries no detail beyond the headline result.