After latest absentee count, Rep. Eastman maintains his lead in Republican primary

According to unofficial election results from the August 18^th primary, Representative David Eastman maintains a lead over challenger Jesse Sumner, who currently sits on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

After in-person voting last Tuesday, Representative Eastman held a lead of seventy-nine votes out of the 2,000 cast.  Since then, more than 700 absentee ballots have been counted, and Eastman’s lead has expanded slightly.

Eastman is one of many Republican incumbents who faced a primary challenge this year.  Most of those other incumbents are moderates who were challenged from the right.  In his bid to take the seat, Jesse Sumner attempted to paint Representative Eastman as someone who was difficult to work with in Juneau, and insinuated that Eastman was the reason Republicans, who held a slim majority in seats after the last election, were not able to form a majority caucus.  For his part, Representative Eastman is a harsh critic of the current methodology used to organize caucuses in Juneau.

The candidates used their money in different ways during the campaign as well.  Jesse Sumner bought many social media ads in addition to broadcast media and a few mailers.  Representative Eastman relied more heavily on traditional campaign mailers.

While Eastman is maintaining a lead as of Wednesday, results are still unofficial until certified by the Alaska Division of Elections.