Alaskans rank their candidate options

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Although Alaska is the largest U.S. state, it is also the least densely populated: only about 600,000 registered voters call it home. Almost 60 percent of these are unaffiliated or independent, while 24 percent identify as Republican. Only 12 percent are registered Democrats.

From its inception in 1959, Alaska has been a conservative bastion, with voters choosing a Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1964. Alaskans have also shown an affinity for independent candidates, giving Ross Perot his second-strongest state finish in 1992 and electing independent Gov. Bill Walker in 2014.

Voting: In 2022, after decades of a back-and-forth on primary rules, Alaska established a single ballot, nonpartisan primary. Under this “top-four” primary system, all candidates appear on the same ballot and the four most popular candidates proceed to the general election regardless of party affiliation.

Alaska also recently switched to a ranked choice voting system in the general election. This means voters can list candidates in order of preference. If no clear winner emerges from the first tally, the least popular candidate is eliminated and ballots for this contestant are reallocated to each voter’s second pick. This continues until one candidate garners a majority.

All Alaskan voters are eligible to vote by mail, but same-day registration is only allowed for the presidential election.

PRESIDENTIAL

Alaska doesn’t hold an official presidential primary. Political parties meet and select candidates according to their own rules, usually through individual caucuses. This year, Joe Biden, 81, won the Democratic primary without opposition on April 13 but passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, three months later. All of Alaska’s Democratic delegates threw their support behind Harris at the Democratic National Convention. Republican candidate Donald Trump, 78, won the caucuses with nearly 88 percent support. Former candidate and Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley received roughly 12 percent of the vote.

In 2020, Trump won Alaska’s general election with almost 53 percent of the vote. Biden trailed his rival by about 10 points. More than 2 percent of voters threw their support behind Libertarian Jo Jorgensen. Alaska has only three Electoral College votes due to its sparse population.

U.S. HOUSE

Alaska has only one seat in the U.S. House. This year, Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola won the state’s top four primary with just over half the vote. Republicans Nick Begich III and Nancy Dahlstrom lagged behind Peltola by more than 20 points, earning about 27 percent and 20 percent support respectively. However, Dahlstrom withdrew from the race soon after to avoid spoiling the contest for Begich. No other candidate achieved even 1 percent support, but the state’s top four primary model ensures that two of these minor candidates will advance with Dahlstrom out of the running.

• Mary Peltola, 51, is the first Alaska Native ever elected to Congress. She flipped her seat in a 2022 special election after long-time representative Don Young died in office. In this contest, Peltola beat out Republican hopefuls Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III to become the first Democratic representative serving the state since 1972. Peltola embraces her party’s emphasis on affordable healthcare and abortion access but also brings a uniquely Alaskan flare to the campaign trail. She promises to expand oil drilling jobs, raise pay for servicemembers, and resist foreign trawling—a fishing method critics say damages marine environments and depletes fish populations.

• Repeat Republican contender Nick Begich III, 47, is a businessman from Anchorage running on a platform of developing Alaska’s oil and gas resources and strengthening the state school system. Begich and Peltola have outlined similar industrial priorities, but Begich claims Democratic environmentalism has undermined Peltola’s effectiveness. Ironically, Begich’s grandfather was the last Democrat to hold Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat between 1971 and 1972. Begich earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Baylor University and a master’s of business administration from Indiana University.

• Matthew Salisbury, 30, is an insurance adjuster from Atlanta, who moved to Alaska in 2019. He is a self-described “bull moose” Republican looking to represent split-ticket voters. Salisbury voted for Peltola in the last election cycle but decided her efforts to restrict bottom trawling didn’t go far enough. Salisbury aims to completely ban this type of fishing, which he says “slaughters” marine wildlife, and advocates for promoting private property ownership.

• John Wayne Howe, 65, is running with the Alaskan Independence party on a platform of ending all taxation. Howe advocates for funding all levels of government solely via donations. Only about 600 Alaskans voted for Howe in the primaries, which translates to 0.6 percent support.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

In Alaska, state Supreme Court justices are installed through an appointment process where the governor selects a judge from a list of approved nominees. Then, after serving a two to three-year term, judges must stand for a yes-no retention vote from Alaskan citizens. If approved, justices serve subsequent 10-year terms.

Four of Alaska’s five Supreme Court justices are Republican-appointed. The fifth was selected by former Gov. Bill Walker. This year, two justices are up for retention. No Alaskan Supreme Court justice has lost a retention race since 1962.

BALLOT MEASURES

• Measure 1 would raise the state’s minimum wage from $11.73 to $15 an hour starting in 2027 and would allow employees to accrue more hours of paid sick leave. It also bans employers from retaliating against workers who refuse to attend work-sponsored religious or political meetings.

• Measure 2 is an attempt to repeal the top-four primary and ranked-choice voting system established in 2020. This measure would also create an official party primary system in the state.

Dig deeper:

• Read Josh Schumacher’s report about foreign bombers flying near Alaskan airspace.

• Read my article on the growing strategic significance of the Arctic.

• Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on an environmental dispute over Alaskan oil drilling.

• Read Carolina Lumetta’s roundup on the Biden administration’s greenlight on three North Slope drilling sites.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.