JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins said Saturday that being the first Democrat elected governor in Alaska in nearly 30 years holds special meaning for him and he credits his win to an ambitious campaign that “covered every corner of the state.”
Winning as a Democrat on a statewide level in Alaska can be like “working against gravity,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. The 37-year-old former state representative, who often goes by JKT, also said he was proud of the “big-tent base of support” he received from Alaskans of all political backgrounds.
Kreiss-Tomkins traveled more than 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) within the vast state to pitch himself to voters, including hundreds of miles (kilometers) by snow machine and by boat to visit rural villages, according to his campaign. Most communities in Alaska are not connected to the main road system and often are only accessible by air or water. The campaign said it had more than 10,000 individual donors.
Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans in the Nov. 3 general election, including Bernadette Wilson. Wilson was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who carried the state in each of his presidential races. Trump announced the endorsement while in Alaska last month for a rally in support of GOP candidates including U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Messages seeking comment were left with Wilson's campaign Friday and Saturday. The two other Republicans in the race — Dave Bronson, a former mayor of Anchorage, and Treg Taylor, a former state attorney general — wished Kreiss-Tomkins success.
His victory means Democrats will control governor’s offices in 30 states, including several they flipped after years of Republican control.
Kreiss-Tomkins succeeds Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who was barred by term limits from seeking a third consecutive stint in office. Kreiss-Tomkins said he ran into Dunleavy on Saturday at a state office building in Anchorage, and the two spoke in Dunleavy's office.
“I appreciated the conversation. It was gracious. He’s been very open and wanting to be helpful,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
Kreiss-Tomkins said during the campaign that over the last eight years, Alaska became “broken” and experienced a “loss of optimism.” He emphasized a willingness to compromise and work across party lines and said he wanted a Cabinet with Republicans, Democrats and independents. He focused on issues including affordability and advocated for full funding of K-12 public schools.
Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was among those who endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins, as did former governors including her father, Republican Frank Murkowski; Bill Walker, an independent; and Tony Knowles, the state's last Democratic governor, who left office in 2002 after two terms.
Kreiss-Tomkins said he is still working on assembling his team. He will be sworn in Dec. 7 along with his lieutenant governor, Zac Johnson, an independent.
Kreiss-Tomkins said his decade-long experience in the Legislature will be an asset in his new role. One of the first issues he hopes to tackle during the legislative session beginning in January is passage of an education budget that he wants to see happen quickly.
Legislative leaders have outlined plans to organize bipartisan coalitions in both the House and Senate.
FILE - Alaska gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, speaks to people outside a convention center in Juneau, Alaska, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has inducted its 2026 class of 18 musical luminaries at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Artists become eligible for the hall 25 years after their first music release.
Here’s a look at this year's Rock Hall class, a few of their defining songs and who inducted them.
The 75-year-old English singer, songwriter and drummer is already in the hall as a member of Genesis and got in again for a solo career that brought some of the biggest hits of the 1980s. Key songs: “Against All Odds,” “One More Night,” “You'll Be in My Heart.”
Collins was inducted by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who also played Collins' famous drum fill as Cynthia Erivo sang “In the Air Tonight” in tribute.
Wu-Tang Clan is an epic hip-hop coalition from Staten Island — made up of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and previously, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. They’ve been hip-hop innovators since their 1993 debut album, “Enter the Wu-Tang.” Key songs: “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect Ya Neck,” “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit.”
The group was inducted by Chris Rock. The many members performed a medley of their hits, including "C.R.E.A.M." and late member Ol' Dirty Bastard's “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” backed by a big jazz band.
The 56-year-old New Jersey-born Queen Latifah achieved unprecedented success for a female rapper, becoming a star at 19 with the release of her 1989 album “All Hail the Queen” and the single “Ladies First.” Key songs: “Ladies First,” “When You’re Good to Mama.”
She enters the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
She was inducted by Megan Thee Stallion and accepted in person. She and fellow nominee MC Lyte jointly performed a medley of their hits, including “U.N.I.T.Y.”
Vandross was an R&B singer whose velvet-voiced love songs made him a definitive voice of the 1980s and ’90s. Vandross died in 2005. Key songs: “Never Too Much,” “Dance With My Father,” “I’d Rather.”
He was inducted by Oprah Winfrey. Usher sang a medley of his songs, including “Here and Now” and “So Amazing."
The 63-year-old producer was instrumental to the popularization of hip-hop in the 1980s through his work with the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Run DMC and his Def Jam Recordings label. Rubin went on to work in rock and country, producing Johnny Cash’s haunting final recordings in the 1990s.
He was inducted by Neil Young and got into the hall as a recipient of the Musical Excellence Award.
Rubin gave a one-sentence acceptance speech: “You can't kill rock ‘n’ roll.” The Red Hot Chili Peppers played a song he produced, “Give it Away,” in tribute while sporting long fake white beards in tribute to Rubin's look.
The scorching rock band led the new wave of British heavy metal and became the quintessential metal band of the 1980s. Key songs: “The Trooper,” “Fear of the Dark,” “Run to the Hills.”
The group was inducted by Jack Black. A supergroup featuring members of Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and St. Vincent played “The Trooper.”
The Brit-pop lords of the 1990s are led by famously feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. Key Songs: “Wonderwall,” “Live Forever,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” They did not appear at the ceremony.
The band was inducted by actor Bob Odenkirk. Singer-songwriter Stephen Wilson Jr. played an acoustic rendition of “Wonderwall.”
The two British rock bands will get a rare joint induction that makes sense given their members and circumstances. Joy Division was a dark and seminal post-punk band formed in 1976. When their charismatic lead singer, Ian Curtis, died in 1980, the remaining members formed New Order. Key songs: “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “Blue Monday,” “Bizarre Love Triangle.”
Inducted by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Bassist from both bands Peter Hook, the only member in attendance, played Joy Divison’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” with the Deftones and Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry.
A trailblazing Brooklyn rapper in the late 1980s, MC Lyte became the first female rapper to release a full solo album, “Lyte as a Rock.” Her hard-edged rhymes brought a political consciousness that was growing in hip-hop at the time. Key songs: “Keep on Keepin’ On,” “Cold Rock a Party,” “Ruffneck.”
She entered the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award and was inducted by rapper Remy Ma. She accepted the honor in person. Her medley with Queen Latifah included her “Ruffneck.”
Sade is a British band most prominent in the 1980s that blended jazz, smooth-and-sultry R&B and sophisti-pop, led by a Nigerian-born singer of the same name. Key songs: “Smooth Operator,” “No Ordinary Love,” “Like a Tattoo,” “Kiss of Life.” She did not appear.
Sade was inducted by singer Andra Day. Singer Sienna Spiro sang their biggest hit, “Smooth Operator.”
Parsons was arguably the most important figure in rock’s turn toward country in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Parsons was a member of the Byrds, co-founded the Flying Burrito Brothers and became a solo artist with Emmylou Harris as his duet partner and backup singer. He died in 1973. He entered the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award. Key songs: “Hickory Wind,” “Love Hurts,” “Return of the Grievous Angel.”
Parsons was inducted via video montage. Parsons had a separate tribute on Wednesday at the Troubadour club that featured his duet partner Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello.
The Nigerian saxophonist, bandleader, progenitor and activist was born in 1938 in colonial Nigeria. His music career, which spanned the late 1950s up to the 1990s, was a signature blend of high-octane horn, jazz, and funk with Yoruba rhythms. Kútì, who died in 1997, is the first African-born solo artist to enter the Rock Hall. He was inducted via video tribute and was a recipient of the Early Influence Award. Key songs: “Water No Get Enemy,” “Zombie,” “Let’s Start.”
The queen of salsa and innovator and spreader of Afro-Cuban sounds and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century, the Havana-born singer Cruz is the first member of the Hall of Fame who sang primarily in Spanish. She died in 2003. Key songs: “Vasos Vacíos,” “La Vida Es Un Carnaval,” “El Último Adiós.” She was inducted via video tribute and entered the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
Miller was known for producing rock acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Rolling Stones albums considered to represent their artistic peak: “Beggars Banquet,” “Let It Bleed,” “Sticky Fingers” and “Exile on Main St.” He died in 1994.
He was inducted via video tribute and received the Musical Excellence Award.
He was honored for bringing the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, James Brown and the Doors to American living rooms, and for consistently featuring Black artists despite network pressure to keep television segregated. He died in 1974.
Sullivan was inducted via video montage and got into the hall as a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers who shaped rock and roll and youth culture.
These artists will be inducted later in the evening:
The 70-year-old punk-coded English rock singer had major hits through the 1980s. He will be inducted along with his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens. Key songs: “Dancing With Myself,” “White Wedding,” “Eyes Without a Face.”
Mardin gets the honor for his decades of work as a producer for Atlantic Records for his work in helping create the soul sound of Aretha Franklin and his production of Rock Hall of Famers including Hall & Oates, the Bee Gees, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross and Cher. Mardin died in 2006.
He gets into the hall as a recipient of the Musical Excellence Award.
The Wu-Tang Clan performs during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
MC Lyte, left, and Queen Latifah perform during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Sienna Spiro performs during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Usher performs during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
MC Lyte accepts the award for musical excellence during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
