Justices on Alaska’s Supreme Court have denied an appeal of the Division of Elections recount of the House District 1 race between Democrat Kathryn Dodge and Republican Bart LeBon, confirming LeBon’s victory.
“This brings finality to the election process and affirms that the Division of Elections acted properly in the recount,” said Chief Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh.
With LeBon’s victory assured, the GOP will have 20 members in the House, a Democrat-led coalition will have 19, a Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, has said he will remain independent.
LeBon said his priority would be tackling the “financial challenge that the state has” and “to get our house in order.”
Tom Amodio, an attorney representing Dodge, said he still believed at least two of the contested ballots should have gone for dodge, and that he disagreed with the decision, but that was up to the Supreme Court justices “to call the shots,”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
