Incumbent David Bronson and Suzanne LaFrance were the top two vote-getters in the nonpartisan general election for mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, on April 2, 2024. The two advanced to a runoff that will take place on May 14, 2024, because neither received more than 45% of the vote.
Although the election is nonpartisan, Bronson is a registered Republican and LaFrance is a registered nonpartisan. The Alaska Republican Party endorsed Bronson and the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed LaFrance.
First elected in 2021, Bronson is running on his first-term record. Bronson says he opposed the Anchorage Assembly’s efforts to increase tax and spending rates and worked to reopen the city following the COVID-19 pandemic. Bronson says he has the “relentless commitment, vision, and a whole lot of heart” needed for the office. Bronson says he will act as a more effective check on the Assembly than LaFrance: “My administration is standing between single party governance in the city…and the balance that we need within our government.”
LaFrance is a former member of the Anchorage Assembly and chaired the Assembly during the first two years of Bronson’s term. LaFrance says she is running to “bring people together and get our future back on track.” LaFrance says her business experience and time on the assembly give her the necessary knowledge and skillset to turn Anchorage around. LaFrance says she will be a more effective mayor than Bronson: “My pitch is that we can get the basics right, and we can build a better future for everyone in our community.”
In the general election, LaFrance received 36.3% of the vote and Bronson received 35.0%.
As of April 2024, 63 mayors in the 100 largest cities by population were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 were affiliated with the Republican Party, one was affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four were independents, five identified as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two had unknown partisan affiliations.
