Alaska's at-large congressional district

Since becoming a U.S. state in 1959, Alaska has been entitled to one member in the United States House of Representatives, elected in the state's sole, at-large congressional district. By area, Alaska's congressional district is the largest congressional district in the United States, and is the second largest electoral district represented by a single member in the world, behind only Nunavut's sole electoral district in Canada.

Alaska's at-large congressional district
Representative
  Vacant
Area665,384.04[1] sq mi (1,723,336.8 km2)
Distribution
  • 65.7% urban[2]
  • 34.3% rural
Population (2019)731,545[3]
Median household
income		$75,463[4]
Ethnicity
Occupation
Cook PVIR+9[5]

This seat has been vacant since March 18, 2022 when Republican Don Young died while travelling from Washington, DC to Alaska. Don Young was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on March 6, 1973 and, at the time of his death, was the longest-serving active member of Congress.

History

The district was created when Alaska achieved statehood on January 3, 1959. Alaska is still entitled to only one member in the House of Representatives.

Voter registration
Voter registration as of January 3, 2021[6]
Party Total voters Percentage
Unaffiliated 338,931 56.52%
Republican 149,173 24.87%
Democratic 81,355 13.57%
Alaskan Independence 19,109 3.19%
Minor parties 11,136 1.85%
Total 599,704 100%

Presidential election results

Election results from presidential races:

Year Office Results
1960 President Richard Nixon 51% – John F. Kennedy 49%
1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson 66% – Barry Goldwater 34%
1968 President Richard Nixon 45% – Hubert Humphrey 43%
1972 President Richard Nixon 58% – George McGovern 35%
1976 President Gerald Ford 58% – Jimmy Carter 36%
1980 President Ronald Reagan 54% – Jimmy Carter 26%
1984 President Ronald Reagan 67% – Walter Mondale 30%
1988 President George H. W. Bush 60% – Michael Dukakis 36%
1992 President George H. W. Bush 39% – Bill Clinton 30%
1996 President Bob Dole 51% – Bill Clinton 33%
2000 President George W. Bush 59% – Al Gore 28%
2004 President George W. Bush 61% – John Kerry 36%
2008 President John McCain 59% – Barack Obama 38%
2012 President Mitt Romney 55% – Barack Obama 41%
2016 President Donald Trump 51% – Hillary Clinton 37%
2020 President Donald Trump 53% – Joe Biden 43%

List of members representing the district
Representative Party Term Cong
ress		 Electoral history
District created January 3, 1959

Ralph Julian Rivers		 Democratic January 3, 1959 –
December 30, 1966		 86th
87th
88th
89th		 Elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Re-elected in 1962.
Re-elected in 1964.
Lost re-election, then resigned early.
Vacant December 30, 1966 –
January 3, 1967		 89th

Howard Wallace Pollock		 Republican January 3, 1967 –
January 3, 1971		 90th
91st		 Elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Retired to run for Governor.

Nick Begich		 Democratic January 3, 1971 –
December 29, 1972		 92nd Elected in 1970.
Went missing October 16, 1972.
Re-elected in 1972.
Declared dead December 29, 1972.
Vacant December 29, 1972 –
March 14, 1973		 92nd
93rd

Don Young		 Republican March 14, 1973 –
March 18, 2022		 93rd
94th
95th
96th
97th
98th
99th
100th
101st
102nd
103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
108th
109th
110th
111th
112th
113th
114th
115th
116th
117th		 Elected to finish Begich's term.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Died.
Vacant March 18, 2022 –
present		 117th

Election results

This district is normally considered safely Republican because no Democrat has been elected since 1972 and because incumbent Don Young has rarely faced a serious challenge since 1992 when he beat Mayor John Devens (D-Valdez) by 4%. Although allegations of corruption against Young led Democrats to target this seat in 2008, Young retained his seat.

1958 to 2010
Year Republican Democratic Green Libertarian Others Write-in[7]
Candidate Votes Pct Candidate Votes Pct Candidate Votes Pct Candidate Votes Pct Candidate Votes Pct Votes Pct
1958 Henry A. Benson 20,699 42.5% Ralph Rivers 27,948 57.5%
1960 R. L. Rettig 25,517 43.2% Ralph Rivers (Incumbent) 33,546 56.8%
1962 Lowell Thomas Jr. 26,638 44% Ralph Rivers (Incumbent) 33,953 56%
1964 Lowell Thomas Jr. 32,556 48.5% Ralph Rivers (Incumbent) 34,590 51.5%
1966 Howard W. Pollock 34,040 51.6% Ralph Rivers (Incumbent) 31,867 48.4%
1968 Howard W. Pollock (Incumbent) 43,577 54.2% Nick Begich 36,785 45.8%
1970 Frank Murkowski 35,947 44.9% Nick Begich 44,137 55.1%
1972 Don Young 41,750 43.8% Nick Begich (Incumbent) 53,651 56.2%
1973 Don Young 35,044 51.4% Emil Notti 33,123 48.6%
1974 Don Young (Incumbent) 51,641 53.8% William L. Hensley 44,280 46.2%
1976 Don Young (Incumbent) 83,722 70.8% Eben Hopson 34,194 28.9% 292 0.2%
1978 Don Young (Incumbent) 68,811 55.4% Patrick Rodey 55,176 44.4% 200 0.2%
1980 Don Young (Incumbent) 114,089 73.8% Kevin Parnell 39,922 25.8% 607 0.4%
1982 Don Young (Incumbent) 128,274 70.8% Dave Carlson 52,011 28.7% 799 0.4%
1984 Don Young (Incumbent) 113,582 55% Pegge Begich 86,052 41.7% Betty Breck (I) 6,508 3.2% 295 0.1%
1986 Don Young (Incumbent) 101,799 56.5% Pegge Begich 74,053 41.1% Betty Breck 4,182 2.3% 243 0.1%
1988 Don Young (Incumbent) 120,595 62.5% Peter Gruenstein 71,881 37.3% 479 0.2%
1990 Don Young (Incumbent) 99,003 51.7% John S. Devens 91,677 47.8% 967 0.5%
1992 Don Young (Incumbent) 111,849 46.8% John S. Devens 102,378 42.8% Mike Milligan 9,529 4% Michael States (AI) 15,049 6.3% 311 0.1%
1994 Don Young (Incumbent) 118,537 56.9% Tony Smith 68,172 32.7% Joni Whitmore 21,277 10.2% 254 0.1%
1996 Don Young (Incumbent) 138,834 59.4% Georgianna Lincoln 85,114 36.4% John J. G. Grames 4,513 1.9% William J. Nemec II (AI) 5,017 2.1% 222 0.1%
1998 Don Young (Incumbent) 139,676 62.6% Jim Duncan 77,232 34.6% John J. G. Grames 5,923 2.7% 469 0.2%
2000 Don Young (Incumbent) 190,862 69.6% Clifford Mark Greene 45,372 16.5% Anna C. Young 22,440 8.2% Leonard J. Karpinski 4,802 1.8% Jim Dore (AI) 10,085 3.7% 832 0.3%
2002 Don Young (Incumbent) 169,685 74.5% Clifford Mark Greene 39,357 17.3% Russell deForest 14,435 6.3% Rob Clift 3,797 1.7% 291 0.1%
2004 Don Young (Incumbent) 213,216 71.1% Thomas M. Higgins 67,074 22.4% Timothy A. Feller 11,434 3.8% Alvin A. Anders 7,157 2.4% 1,115 0.4%
2006 Don Young (Incumbent) 132,743 56.6% Diane E. Benson 93,879 40% Eva Ince 1,819 0.8% Alexander Crawford 4,029 1.7% William Ratigan 1,615 0.7% 560 0.2%
2008 Don Young (Incumbent) 158,939 50.1% Ethan Berkowitz 142,560 45% Don Wright 14,274 4.5% 1,205 0.4%
2010 Don Young (Incumbent) 175,384 69% Harry Crawford 77,606 30.5% 1,345 0.5%
Year Republican Democratic Green Libertarian Others Write-in

Source: "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2008.

2012 election
2012 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Young (Incumbent) 185,296 63.94 −5.02
Democratic Sharon Cissna 82,927 28.62 −1.89
Libertarian Jim McDermott 15,028 5.19 +5.19
Independent Ted Gianoutsos 5,589 1.93 +1.93
Independent Write-in votes 964 0.33 −0.20
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 289,804

2014 election
2014 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Young (Incumbent) 142,260 50.95 −12.99
Democratic Forrest Dunbar 114,317 40.94 +12.32
Libertarian Jim McDermott 21,373 7.65 +2.46
Independent Write-in votes 1,269 0.45 +0.12
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 279,219

2016 election
2016 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Young (Incumbent) 155,088 50.32 −0.63
Democratic Steve Lindbeck 111,019 36.02 −4.92
Libertarian Jim McDermott 31,770 10.31 +2.66
Independent Bernie Souphanavong 9,093 2.95 +2.95
Independent Write-in votes 1,228 0.40 -0.05
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 308,198

2018 election
2018 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Young (Incumbent) 149,779 53.08 +2.76%
Independent Alyse S. Galvin[lower-alpha 1] 131,199 46.50 +10.48%
Write-in 1,188 0.42 +0.02%
Total votes 282,166 100 N/A

2020 election
2020 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Young (Incumbent) 192,126 54.40 +1.32%
Independent Alyse S. Galvin[lower-alpha 1] 159,856 45.26 −1.24%
Write-in 1,183 0.34 −0.08%
Total votes 353,165 100 N/A

Notes
  1. Also listed as having the Democratic nomination.

Alaska will hold their Primary Elections on August 16, 2022. Alaska utilizes a nonpartisan primary election system to determine the top four qualified candidates that will advance to the General Election. Under Alaska law, a candidate does not have to be a member of a political party or political group in order to run for office. Additionally, if a candidate is registered as affiliated with a political party or political group, it does not imply the candidate is nominated by, endorsed by, approved of, or associated with that particular party or group.[10] In the General Election, Alaska employs ranked-choice voting to determine the winner from the pool of four candidates selected during the Primary.[11] There are currently seven declared candidates for Alaska’s At-Large Congressional Seat for the 2022 Election Cycle.[12][13]

2022 Alaska's At-Large Congressional Seat Primary Elections
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sarah Palin TBD TBD
Independent Al Gross TBD TBD
Republican Nick Begich, III TBD TBD
Democratic Christopher Constant TBD TBD
Republican Gregg Brelsford TBD TBD
Republican Shannon Scott Evans TBD TBD
Republican Bob Lyons TBD TBD
Republican Julio Perez TBD TBD
Republican Randy Purham TBD TBD
Libertarian Chris Bye TBD TBD

Any rumored candidates are denoted by an +.

References
Specific
  1. https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf
  2. "Congressional Districts". proximityone.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  3. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  4. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  5. "Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index". The Cook Political Report. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  6. https://www.elections.alaska.gov/statistics/2021/JAN/VOTERS%20BY%20PARTY%20AND%20PRECINCT.htm
  7. Prior to the 1976 election, official election returns released by the State of Alaska were typewritten rather than computer generated, and write-in votes were not included in published vote totals
  8. Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  9. "State of Alaska 2020 General Election" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  10. "Alaska Division of Elections - Primary Election Info". www.elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  11. "Alaska Division of Elections". www.elections.alaska.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  12. Gunzburger, Ron. "Politics1 - Online Guide to Alaska Elections, Candidates & Politics". politics1.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  13. ago, Nathaniel Herz Updated: 39 minutes ago Published: 1 hour. "Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young has died at age 88". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
General

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