In a major upset, Democrat Grier Hopkins has defeated Republican John Coghill Jr. in the race for mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska — which voted for Trump by 15 points! Democrats aligned with Hopkins won seats on the Assembly.
After the results, the Democrat reached out to his Republican competitor saying, “It was a really good campaign with John. He’s a really good man who cares deeply about this community, and that’s why it was a clean race and a good race, and we share a lot of goals for seeing our community succeed. We share a birthday. August 15th is both our birthdays, and I’ll be wishing him one next year, but until now, I’m going to need his help going forward too, so I hope to have his help and have his support as we all try to unite and build our community together.”
Coghill responded saying, “He was for the community, and so was I. The same issues. We brought the same issues many, many times, but different approaches.”
“He sold it a little better than I did, and he got the nod, but it’s a narrow nod, so I’m hoping that him and I can communicate along the way. There’s things I get to bring to the table that maybe will be helpful to him. In the meanwhile, like I told my wife earlier today, ‘If I win, I’m going to work. If I don’t, I’m going to work,‘" Coghill added.
Overall, it was a good night for Dems. Maybe this is a harbinger of what is awaiting TFG in November