Alaska elections, 2014
 |
Alaska's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access |
 |
|
2015 →
← 2013
|
The state of Alaska held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:
| 2014 elections and events in Alaska | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petition drive deadline for initiatives | January 9, 2014 
| |||
| School board elections (1) | April 1, 2014
| |||
| Local ballot measure election (1) | April 1, 2014
| |||
| Filing deadline for candidates for primary election | June 2, 2014
| |||
| Voter registration deadline for primary election | July 20, 2014
| |||
| Primary election date | August 19, 2014
| |||
| Statewide ballot measure election | August 19, 2014
| |||
| Petition filing deadline for independent candidates for general election | August 19, 2014
| |||
| Voter registration deadline for general election | October 5, 2014
| |||
| School board elections (1) | October 7, 2014
| |||
| Filing deadline for write-in candidates for general election | October 30, 2014
| |||
| General election date | November 4, 2014
| |||
| Statewide ballot measure election | November 4, 2014
| |||
| Local ballot measure election (1) | November 4, 2014
| |||
| School board elections (1) | November 4, 2014
| |||
Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Alaska in 2014:
2014 elections
Races to watch in Alaska
U.S. Congress
Sen. Mark Begich (D) faced a tough re-election campaign. His vote for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was a major issue in 2014. A unified Republican opposition unseated the senator, who was still serving his first term. The November 2014 election remained too close to call for a week past the election. Dan Sullivan defeated Sen. Begich.
Alaska State Legislature
Elections for the Alaska State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Heading into the election, the Republican Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.
| 2012 Margin of Victory, Alaska State Senate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Votes | Top Opponent |
| District 10 (J) |  Hollis French, II |
0.4% | 15,151 | Bob Bell |
| District 2 (B) |  Pete Kelly |
8.6% | 11,481 | Joe Paskvan |
| District 7 (G) | Bill Wielechowski |
12.3% | 11,355 | Bob Roses |
| District 14 (N) | Catherine Giessel |
18.2% | 17,607 | Ron Devon |
| District 8 (H) | Berta Gardner |
19% | 11,680 | Don Smith |
| District 1 (A) | John Coghill |
21% | 15,639 | Joe Thomas |
| District 13 (M) | Anna Fairclough |
24.5% | 17,688 | Bettye Davis |
| District 17 | Bert Stedman |
29% | 15,242 | Albert Kookesh |
| District 11 (K) | Lesil McGuire |
32.9% | 13,985 | Roselynn Cacy |
| District 9 (I) | Johnny Ellis |
36.3% | 10,008 | Paul Kendall |
Elections for the Alaska House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Heading into the election, the Republican Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.
| 2012 Margin of Victory, Alaska House of Representatives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Votes | Top Opponent |
| District 34 | Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins |
0.4% | 8,232 | William A. Thomas |
| District 4 | Scott Kawasaki |
2.7% | 6,152 | David Pruhs |
| District 25 | Lance D. Pruitt |
2.8% | 8,037 | Pete Petersen |
| District 2 | Tammie Wilson |
4.8% | 8,432 | Bob Miller |
| District 38 | David Guttenberg |
4.9% | 6,355 | Alan S. Dick |
| District 5 | Pete Higgins |
7.3% | 7,360 | David Watts |
| District 22 | Chris Tuck |
7.8% | 5,892 | Lisa M. Vaught |
| District 14 | Max F. Gruenberg, Jr. |
8.1% | 6,274 | Don Hadley |
| District 36 | Bryce Edgmon |
10.1% | 4,621 | Carl M. Morgan, Jr. |
| District 19 | Lindsey Holmes |
10.2% | 7,633 | Anand Dubey |
Elections by type
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate elections in Alaska
Voters in Alaska elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Alaska uses a top-four primary for congressional and state-level offices. Under Alaska's top-four primary system, all candidates for a given office run in a single primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, then advance to the general election.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by July 20, 2014.[3] For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014.[4]
- See also: Alaska elections, 2014
Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Mark Begich (D). Begich was first elected in 2008.
Candidates
General election candidates
- Mark Begich
- Dan Sullivan
Mark Fish
Ted Gianoutsos- Sid Hill (Write-in)
August 19, 2014, primary results
ADL Primary[5]
- Mark Begich - Incumbent
- William Bryk
- Mark Fish
- Scott Kohlhaas
- Thom Walker
Zachary Kile (Alaskan Independence Party)- Vic Kohring (Alaskan Independence Party)
Republican Primary
- John Jaramillo
- Mead Treadwell - Lieutenant Governor
- Joe Miller
- Daniel S. Sullivan - Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner
Unaffiliated candidates
- Ted Gianoutsos
- Sid Hill (Write-in)
Withdrew
- Vic Kohring - Kohring withdrew in early September and endorsed Dan Sullivan[6]
- Thom Walker - Walker withdrew from the race after winning the primary. He was replaced by Mark Fish on the general election ballot.[7]
Rumored but did not run
Race background
Incumbent Mark Begich was a Democratic senator in a red state, making his seat one of the most vulnerable in 2014. The unpopularity of President Obama's healthcare mandate, combined with its poor implementation, was likely to be a major issue that Begich was unable to overcome.
Race ratings
Most vulnerable seats
The Fiscal Times compiled a list of the seven most vulnerable Senate seats up for election in 2014. The seven included in the list were: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. Going into the 2014 election, all seven seats were held by Democrats.[8]
Democratic incumbent Mark Begich defeated Ted Stevens in 2008 to win the seat.[8]
Polling indicated that Gov. Sean Parnell (R) could have been Begich’s strongest opponent, but Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R) was the likeliest opponent. The seat was considered a toss-up.[8]
Washington Post top 10 races
According to an analysis by The Washington Post, the U.S. Senate election in Alaska was considered one of the top 10 Senate races of 2014. [9]
U.S. House
U.S. House of Representatives elections in Alaska
The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Alaska took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's At-Large Congressional District.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Alaska uses a top-four primary for congressional and state-level offices. Under Alaska's top-four primary system, all candidates for a given office run in a single primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, then advance to the general election.[10][11]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by July 20, 2014.[12] For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014.[13]
- See also: Alaska elections, 2014
Incumbent: The incumbent heading into the election was Don Young (R), who was first elected in 1972. Alaska has a single at-large congressional district, which makes up the entire state.
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the one congressional seat from Alaska.
| Members of the U.S. House from Alaska -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
Candidates
General election candidates
August 19, 2014, primary results
|
|
|
State Executives
State executive official elections in Alaska
Two state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Alaska.
The following offices were elected in 2014 in Alaska:
List of candidates by office
Governor
General election
Sean Parnell - Incumbent/Dan Sullivan
Bill Walker/Byron Mallott (Alaska First Unity ticket) 
[15][16]
Carolyn "Care" Clift/Andrew C. Lee[17][18]
J.R. Myers/Maria Rensel[19]
Lost in the primary
Gubernatorial
Republican
Gerald L. "Tap" Heikes[18]
Russ Millette[18]
Brad Snowden[20]
ADL (includes Alaskan Independence, Democratic, and Libertarian Party)
Lieutenant gubernatorial
Republican
ADL primary (includes Alaskan Independence, Democratic, and Libertarian Party)
Bob Williams - Teacher in Mat-Su, Alaska[22]
Withdrew after primary
(Unaffiliated) Craig Fleener (Former running mate of Bill Walker) - Former Deputy Commissioner of Fish and Game and military veteran[23][24]
Hollis French - Democratic member of the Alaska State Senate representing District J[25][26][18]
Lieutenant Governor
General election
- Dan Sullivan - Mayor of Anchorage[27]
- Andrew C. Lee - Bering Sea Gold Dredger, Computer Programmer[18]
- Bill Walker/Byron Mallott (Alaska First Unity ticket)[28][29]
Lost in the primary
Republican primary
ADL primary (includes Alaskan Independence, Democratic, and Libertarian Party)
- Bob Williams - Teacher in Mat-Su, Alaska[30]
Forced to withdraw after primary
- Unaffiliated, Craig Fleener (Former running mate of Bill Walker) - Former Deputy Commissioner of Fish and Game and military veteran[31][32]
- Hollis French - Democratic member of the Alaska State Senate representing District J[33][26][18]
State Senate
State Senate election in Alaska
Elections for the Alaska State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Alaska State Senate:
| Alaska State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 7 | 6 | |
| Republican Party | 13 | 14 | |
| Total | 20 | 20 | |
List of candidates by district
District B • District D • District F • District H • District J • District L • District N • District P • District R • District T
State House
State House elections in Alaska
Elections for the Alaska House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Alaska House of Representatives:
| Alaska House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 14 | 16 | |
| Republican Party | 26 | 23 | |
| Independent | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
List of candidates by district
District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22• District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40
Statewide ballot measures
Statewide ballot measure elections in Alaska
- See also: Alaska 2014 ballot measures and 2014 ballot measures
Four statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2014 ballot in the state of Alaska.
On the ballot
August 19:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VR | Ballot Measure 1 | Taxes | Repeals bill that grants tax breaks to oil companies | 
|
November 4:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IndISS | Ballot Measure 2 | Marijuana | Decriminalizes marijuana in the state |
|
| IndISS | Ballot Measure 3 | Minimum wage | Increases the minimum wage in 2015 and 2016 |
|
| IndISS | Ballot Measure 4 | Business regulation | Prohibits mining projects if harmful to wild salmon in fisheries reserve |
|
Local ballot measures
Local ballot measure elections in Alaska
Elections by date
Click below for more information about local ballot measure elections on:
School boards
School board elections in Alaska
In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.
State elections
A total of three Alaska school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for seven seats. Elections were spread throughout the year, including one on April 1, 2014, and two on October 7, 2014.
Here are several quick facts about Alaska's school board elections in 2014:
- An average of 1.86 candidates ran for each school board seat up for election in the largest school districts in Alaska in 2014, which was close to the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.
- 42.86 percent of school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a higher percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.
- All the incumbents who held the seven seats on the ballot in 2014 ran for re-election, and all but one kept their seats.
- One newcomer defeated an incumbent to win a seat on the board in 2014, which represented 14.29 percent of seats on the ballot. This was lower than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
- The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Anchorage School District with 49,206 K-12 students.
- The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Fairbanks North Star Borough School District with 14,285 K-12 students.
- Fairbanks North Star Borough School District had the most seats on the ballot in 2014 with four seats up for election.
- Anchorage School District and Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District had the fewest seats on the ballot in 2014 with two seats up for election each.
The districts listed below served 80,570 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[34] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.
| 2014 Alaska School Board Elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Date | Seats up for election | Total board seats | Student enrollment |
| Anchorage School District | 4/1/2014 | 2 | 7 | 49,206 |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough School District | 10/7/2014 | 3 | 7 | 14,285 |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District | 10/7/2014 | 2 | 7 | 17,079 |
Voting in Alaska
- See also: Voting in Alaska
Important voting information
- Alaska uses a top-four primary for congressional and state-level offices. Under Alaska's top-four primary system, all candidates for a given office run in a single primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, then advance to the general election.[35][36]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
- Alaska does not permit online voter registration.
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee voting by state
For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Alaska, please visit our absentee voting by state page.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Alaska is one of 34 states that permits early voting with no specific restrictions as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 15 days before an election and ends on Election Day.[37]
Elections Performance Index
Alaska ranked 19th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Alaska received an overall score of 67 percent.[38]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "August 18, 2020 Primary Election Information," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ DMV.org, "Voter Registration in Alaska," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections "2014 Election Dates and Hours," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑ In Alaska, candidates from the Democratic, Libertarian and Alaskan Independence parties all appear on the same ballot. The candidate who receives the most votes from each party then advances to the general election.
- ↑ Newsminer.com, "Independence party candidate exits US Senate race," September 3, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Alaska Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate withdraws," August 27, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Fiscal Times, "7 Senate Seats Most at Risk—Hint: They’re All Blue" accessed February 15, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Fix’s top 10 Senate races of 2014," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "August 18, 2020 Primary Election Information," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ DMV.org, "Voter Registration in Alaska," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections "2014 Election Dates and Hours," accessed February 19, 2014
- ↑ In Alaska, candidates from the Democratic, Libertarian and Alaskan Independence parties all appear on the same ballot. The candidate who receives the most votes from each party then advances to the general election.
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Walker, Mallott to join forces in governor's race," September 1, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "2014 General Election candidates," accessed September 5, 2014
- ↑ CareClift for Alaska Facebook page, "Homepage," accessed May 19, 2014
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 State of Alaska Division of Elections, "2014 Governor candidates," accessed June 12, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "akgov14" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "akgov14" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ J.R. Myers for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed February 27, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "August 19, 2014 Primary Candidate List," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ Phil Stoddard for Governor 2014 Official Campaign Website, "Stoddard for Governor," accessed September 10, 2013
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "August 19, 2014 Primary Candidate List," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ The Anchorage Daily-News, "Walker chooses Fleener as running mate in Independent bid for governor," October 14, 2013
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch, "Craig Fleener declares run for lieutenant governor with independent Bill Walker," October 14, 2013
- ↑ The Anchorage Daily News, "French to run for Lieutenant Governor," October 16, 2013
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage Democrat French considering run for governor, August 14, 2013 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "adn" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ " KTUU.com, "Mayor Dan Sullivan Announces Intent to Run for Lt. Governor," June 19, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Walker, Mallott to join forces in governor's race," September 1, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "2014 General Election candidates," accessed September 5, 2014
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "August 19, 2014 Primary Candidate List," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ The Anchorage Daily-News, "Walker chooses Fleener as running mate in Independent bid for governor," October 14, 2013
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch, "Craig Fleener declares run for lieutenant governor with independent Bill Walker," October 14, 2013
- ↑ The Anchorage Daily News, "French to run for Lieutenant Governor," October 16, 2013
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "August 18, 2020 Primary Election Information," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "Absentee Early and In-person Voting," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, "Election Performance Index Report," accessed April 23, 2014
 |
State of Alaska Juneau (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
