Alaska Elects Two Independents to State House, and Almost Elects a Third One

Last week Alaska voters re-elected independent Dan Ortiz to the State House from the 36th district in Ketchikan. He had first been elected as an independent in 2014.

Also last week, independent candidate Jason Grenn was elected to the State House from the 22nd district in Anchorage.

In the 32nd State House district on Kodiak Island, independent Duncan Fields lost by only 98 votes.

The Constitution Party has a strong showing in the 9th district, with Pamela Goode polling 36.72% in a two-person race. She had run for the same seat in 2014 and had polled 26.93%. Here is a link to the unofficial Alaska election returns for 2016.

Vermont Progressive Party Elects Nine Members to the Legislature, the Most Ever

On November 8, nine Progressive Party member-nominees were elected to the Vermont legislature, the most ever. In the State Senate, Anthony Pollina was re-elected from Washington County. Christopher Pearson, who had been a Progressive member of the House from Burlington, was elected to the State Senate seat, replacing Progressive Senator David Zuckerman, who was elected this week to be Lieutenant Governor.

The Progressives elected seven member-nominees to the House. Re-elected were Diane Gonzalez, Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, Mollie Burke, and Sandy Haas. The party also elected Cindy Weed, who had been elected as a Progressive in 2012 but had been defeated for re-election in 2014. Also, in 2016, the party elected new legislators Celene Colburn and Brian Cina.

The only Progresive incumbent who was defeated for re-election is Susan Davis. She only lost by eight votes, and may seek a recount.

In 2014, the Progressive Party had elected eight member-nominees. In 2012, it had elected seven.

This post does not include persons who were Democratic member-nominees who also had the nomination of the Progressive Party. Vermont allows fusion. Most of the Progressive member-nominees who won this week were also nominated by the Democratic Party.