Alaska House: Prax and Cottle face uphill climbs in tight Interior races

Two state House races in Interior Alaska remain undecided as of Wednesday afternoon, with roughly 70% of all votes in the state tabulated. The contests in Districts 33 and 34 are defying early predictions, leaving incumbents and challengers waiting for the final count to determine who holds the seats.

In District 33, incumbent Republican Glenn Prax leads the pack with 41.6% of the vote. Undeclared candidate Pepper McFarland follows with 29.3%, while Republican Barbara Haney trails by a fraction at 28.9%. The narrow gap between the second and third candidates keeps the race fluid as late-arriving ballots are processed.

Prax, representing North Pole and Badger, expressed confidence in his position while acknowledging his communication gaps. He noted that 60% of voters initially supported someone else, a statistic he attributed to his own performance rather than voter dissatisfaction.

“60% voted for somebody else first. Well, that’s me not doing my job right,” Prax said. He added that running against an incumbent often signals dissatisfaction with the current representative, a dynamic he found difficult to accept.

McFarland, an undeclared candidate, described her district as “very, very bright red” and expressed surprise at securing nearly a third of the vote. She stated her primary goal was offering North Pole residents an alternative to the established political order. Although she acknowledged she was a long shot, she believes her strong showing may shift how Prax views the diversity of his district.

Haney, the Republican challenger, focused on voter turnout in her report to supporters. She noted that Republican voters not only supported her but also drove votes for candidates further up the ranked-choice ballot. She congratulated Prax on his lead and advised her own supporters to rank him second to prevent a runoff.

In District 34, which covers Two Rivers, Eielson, and Salcha, nonpartisan candidate Joy Beth Cottle holds a narrow advantage over Republican Harmony Tomaszewski. As of Wednesday, Cottle leads by 43 votes. She stated she expected the margin to widen as outstanding absentee ballots are counted.

Cottle described a watch party in Fairbanks funded by her campaign, where more than 100 people gathered to monitor both local and national results. She credited the support for helping calm her nerves during the night. Tomaszewski did not respond to phone or email requests for comment by the time the results were reported.