Democratic Mayor-elect Ethan Berkowitz
An unusually nasty runoff in Alaska's largest city ended in a
clear 59-41 win for Democrat Ethan Berkowitz. Berkowitz held a big financial edge over GOP city Assemblywoman Amy Demboski, who edged out two better-funded conservatives in the April non-partisan primary. Berkowitz will replace GOP Mayor Dan Sullivan (not to be confused with the freshman senator of the same name) and will become one of the Last Frontier's most prominent Democrats.
The contest entered the gutter in the final week when a prominent pastor accused Berkowitz of endorsing father-son marriages on his radio show. Berkowitz denied the accusations, but Demboski suggested that her opponent seriously supported incest. Audio of the show finally surfaced just a day before the election, but it didn't settle much. There were no public polls of the runoff so we can't know if the controversy had any real effect on voters one way or another, but it definitely wasn't enough to stop Berkowitz from winning decisively.
Berkowitz's victory finally gives him a high-profile win after three big losses. In 2006 he served as ex-Gov. Tony Knowles' running mate during his comeback bid, but the ticket lost 48-41 to none other tan Sarah Palin. Two years later, Berkowitz challenged longtime GOP Rep. Don Young, who was under federal investigation. While polls showed Berkowitz winning, it appears that Alaskans decided they couldn't sacrifice Young at a time when powerful Sen. Ted Stevens was about to lose his seat.
Berkowitz also ran for governor in 2010 but this time there wasn't much optimism that he could beat Republican Sean Parnell, and he lost 59-38. But Berkowitz's victory on Tuesday gives Alaska Democrats a high-profile figure in a state where they don't have much of as bench, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him on another statewide ballot before too long.