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Politics of Alaska

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Although in its early years of statehood Alaska was a Democratic state, since the early 1970s it has been characterized as Republican-leaning.[1] Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. Alaska Natives, while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the Native corporations. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship. The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the Alaskan Independence Party, but its membership has shrunk in recent decades (to 18,725 as of 2022).[2][3]

History

Alaska regularly supports Republicans in presidential elections and has done so since statehood. Republicans have won the state's electoral college votes in every election except Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. The 1960 and 1968 elections were close, however, since 1972, Republicans have consistently carried the state by large margins.

Political party strength has varied over the years. The communities of Juneau, Sitka, downtown and midtown Anchorage, the areas surrounding the college/University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and Ester and the "Alaska Bush" – rural, sparsely populated Alaska – stand out as Democratic strongholds, while the Kenai Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, parts of Anchorage, and Fairbanks (including North Pole and Eielson Air Force Base), Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg serve as the Republican Party electoral base. As of 2021, over half of all registered voters have chosen "Non-Partisan" or "Undeclared" as their affiliation,[4] despite recent attempts to close primaries.

Unique features

See also: Cannabis in Alaska and Ravin v. State

Alaska was formerly the only state in which possession of thirty ounces or less of marijuana in one's home was completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.[5] Alaska's appeals court ruled in 2003 that Alaska's constitutional guarantee of privacy took precedence over any attempts at marijuana prohibition, overruling a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of all amounts of the drug. The court ruled that voters, who approved the criminalization measure, did not have authority to change the state constitution protecting one's privacy.[6]

Alaska is also unusual in that it does not have counties. Instead, it is divided into boroughs in some of the more populated areas, but nearly half the state is in the Unorganized Borough and has no local government or services other than town or village councils. The Unorganized Borough, however, does include some major population centers such as Nome and Bethel.

State

The Alaska Legislature consists of a 20-member Senate serving 4-year terms and 40-member House of Representatives serving 2-year terms. Since 1994, it has been dominated by conservatives, generally Republicans (although currently there is a bipartisan working group in the Senate). Likewise, recent state governors have been mostly conservatives, although not always elected under the Republican Party banner. Six Republicans and four Democrats have served as governor of Alaska. In addition, Republican governor Wally Hickel was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.

Recent and ongoing U.S. Justice Department probes continue into Alaskan politics. Stevens, who had served since 1968, was caught up in a larger probe that included Federal Bureau of Investigation raids in summer 2007 at the offices of six Alaska legislators, including Stevens' son, Ben, who was then the president of the state Senate, and a raid on Senator Ted Stevens' personal home.[7] Stevens drew the FBI and Justice Department attention over his home renovation project done in 2000, which more than doubled the size of his home. Bill Allen, founder of VECO Corporation, an oil supplying and engineering company, oversaw the work at Senator Steven's home. Bill Allen has since pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. Alaska lawmakers went as far as embroidering ball caps with the letters CBC, for "Corrupt Bastards Club". The Washington Post describes more into the political scandals with its article entitled "I'll sell my soul to the Devil" from a tape quote from Pete Kott, former Republican speaker of the Alaskan legislature.[8] On October 27, 2008, Stevens was convicted on seven counts of making false statements. His conviction was reversed,[9] six months after he lost the election to the Democrat, because of misconduct by prosecutors, which included withholding and falsifying evidence.[10]

Federal

Alaska's current delegation to the United States Congress consists of two Republican Senators and one Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Because of its population relative to other U.S. states, Alaska has only one member in the U.S. House of Representatives. Its sole congressional district is currently the world's second-largest legislative constituency by area, behind only the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat was left vacant following the death of Republican Don Young in March 2022. Later that year, Democrat Mary Peltola was elected to serve the remainder of Young's term, becoming the first Democrat to win the seat since 1972, and the first Alaskan Native to be elected to the United States Congress in history.

Representative Young was in his 25th consecutive House term at the time of his death, and his seniority made him an influential Republican House member. His position on the House Transportation Committee allowed him to parlay some $450 million to the proposed Knik Arm Bridge and the proposed Gravina Island Bridge which was derided as a "bridge to nowhere".[11] As a result, Congress removed the federal earmark for the bridge in 2005.[12]

Republicans Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski represent Alaska in the United States Senate. Sullivan has held the state's Class 2 Senate seat since 2015, and Murkowski has its Class 3 seat since 2002. Notably, Murkowski was re-elected in 2010 in a write-in campaign, after losing the Republican primary to Tea Party-backed challenger Joe Miller. The campaign made national headlines, and Murkowski became the first Senator to be elected in a write-in campaign since Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in 1954. Since winning re-election, Murkowski's voting record has notably become more moderate.[citation needed]

Presidential election results
Presidential election results[13]
Year Republican Democratic
1960 50.9% 30,953 49.1% 29,809
1964 34.1% 22,930 65.9% 44,329
1968 45.3% 37,600 42.7% 35,411
1972 58.1% 55,349 34.6% 32,967
1976 57.9% 71,555 35.7% 44,058
1980 54.4% 86,112 26.4% 41,842
1984 66.7% 138,377 29.9% 62,007
1988 59.6% 119,251 36.3% 72,584
1992 39.5% 102,000 30.3% 78,294
1996 50.8% 122,746 33.3% 80,380
2000 58.6% 167,398 27.7% 79,004
2004 61.1% 190,889 35.5% 111,025
2008 59.4% 193,841 37.8% 123,594
2012 54.8% 164,676 40.8% 122,640
2016 51.3% 163,387 36.6% 116,454
2020 52.8% 189,951 42.8% 153,778

Parties and registration

Recognized political parties

Party registration

Party registration as of June 3, 2024[14]
Party Total voters Percentage
Unaffiliated 346,751 58.35%
Republican 143,401 24.13%
Democratic 73,598 12.38%
Alaskan Independence 18,768 3.16%
Minor parties 11,758 1.98%
Total 594,276 100.00%

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Journal Alaska State Profile". Election.nationaljournal.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  2. ^ "Alaska Division of Elections". www.elections.alaska.gov.
  3. ^ "Questions And Answers—About Alaskan Independence". Alaskan Independence Party. 2006. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  4. ^ "Alaska Voter Registration". elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  5. ^ Volz, Matt (July 11, 2006). "Judge rules against Alaska marijuana law". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  6. ^ Noy v. Alaska, 83 P.3d 538, 543 (2003).
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-07-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) | Federal agents raid Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood home
  8. ^ Vick, Karl. "I'll Sell My Soul to the Devil". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  9. ^ Washington Post, 8 April 2009, "Judge Orders Probe of Attorneys in Stevens Case"
  10. ^ "Report: Prosecutors Hid Evidence in Ted Stevens Case". NPR.
  11. ^ "Alaska: End Sought For 'Bridge To Nowhere'". The New York Times. 2007-09-22.
  12. ^ Hulse, Carl (2005-11-17). "Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in Congress". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Leip, David. "General Election Results – Alaska". United States Election Atlas. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  14. ^ "Alaska Division of Elections". www.elections.alaska.gov. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
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