Political History of Alaska
A good candidate knows the political history of their state. Voter registration and past elections are the two most important pieces of political history.
Voter Registration
The population of Alaska was 626,932 in 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 7/9/04). Of those residents, 478,232 were registered to vote. Registered Republicans almost outnumber Democrats 2:1. While this is a clearly Republican state, under half of the registered voters are registered either Republican or Democrat (Alaska Division of Elections, 2/21/03)
Voter Registration By Party (All numbers given as percentages)
Year |
DEM |
REP |
AK IND |
GREEN |
NON-PART |
REP. MOD. |
UN-DECL. |
LIBER |
Other |
1994 |
17.52 |
23.04 |
3.84 |
.75 |
25.63 |
- |
27.85 |
- |
1.36 |
1998 |
16.72 |
24.75 |
4.00 |
.72 |
17.21 |
.29 |
34.15 |
1.51 |
1.07 |
2002 |
16.05 |
25.31 |
3.83 |
1.04 |
14.74 |
.69 |
36.27 |
1.59 |
.85 |
Past Statewide Elections
Looking at recent statewide elections gives insight to the political climate of the state.
Presidential Elections: In 1996 Clinton beat Dole by 8% points in the nation wide popular vote. That make the 17% point victory for Dole in Alaska that much more impressive (Alaska Divison of Elections, 11/27/96) . In 2000 Bush received more than double the votes that Gore did in the state of Alaska (Alaska Divison of Elections, 12/05/00). These numbers reflect the registration numbers.
Candidates 1996 |
% Of Vote Received |
Candidates 2000 |
% Of Vote Received |
Dole (R) |
50.8% |
Bush (R) |
58.62% |
Clinton (D) |
33.3% |
Gore (D) |
27.67% |
U.S. Senate Elections: The last two senate elections have been dominated by Republicans. Both victorious candidates already had established themselves in the U.S. Senate; Stevens has served for 35 years and Murkowski had already served three terms(Steven.senate.gov) and (Bio Directory of U.S. Congress). Partisanship and incumbencey advantage likely affected the outcomes of these elections.
Candidates 2002 |
% Of Vote Received |
Candidates 1998 |
% Of Vote Received |
Stevens (R) |
78.17% |
Murkowski* (R) |
74.49% |
Vondersaar (D) |
10.51% |
Sonneman (D) |
19.72% |
Governor elections: In 1998 Knowles was seeking his second term as governor. He easily defeated the Republican challenger (Alaska Divsion of Elections, 12/1/98). Since Knowles had served two consecutive terms, the 2002 election was an open seat election. It was the closest recent statewide election in Alaska (Alaska Division of Elections, 12/06/02).
Candidates 1998 |
% Of Vote received |
Candidates 2002 |
% Of Vote Received |
Lindauer (R) |
17.86% |
Murkowski (R) |
55.85% |
Knowles (D) |
51.27% |
Ulmer Hall (D) |
40.70% |
U.S. Representative elections: Don Young is Alaska’s current single member of the House. He is serving his 16th term and has handily won his seat in the past four elections. His narrowest margin of victory since 1996 was 23 points (Alaska Divison of Elections, 12/06/02).
Conclusion
Alaska is a heavily Republican state that has been dominated by Republicans in recent statewide elections with the exception of the 1998 race for Governor. This year’s Senate election differs from historical trends. In past senate elections, the Republican candidates had already won elections; Dana Murkowski (R) has never won a senate election. Also, the Democrats in past elections have not been as high profile as Knowles (D), who was elected governor twice. These differences indicate why this years election is highly contested.
Davidson College, Davidson NC, 28035
Site Created by Jordan Sundheim josundheim@davidson.edu
Course: Strategy and Ethics in Political Campaigns
Created: 9/9/2004. Last Updated: 9/10/2004.
Sources List
Word Count