United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2020
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 4
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Oct. 19
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (postmarked); Nov. 13 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
|
| Alaska's At-Large Congressional District |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2020 |
| Primary: August 18, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Don Young (R) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Alaska |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Likely Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • At-large Alaska elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
The 2020 U.S. House of Representatives election in Alaska took place on November 3, 2020. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's one at-large congressional district.
Incumbent Don Young won election in the general election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Don Young, who was first elected in 1973. The race was one of 56 U.S. House rematches from 2018.
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. This race was one of 89 congressional races that were decided by 10 percent or less in 2020.
Post-election analysis
The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
| Presidential and congressional election results, Alaska's At-Large Congressional District, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Presidential | U.S. House |
Democratic candidate  |
43 | 0 |
Republican candidate  |
53.1 | 54.4 |
| Difference | 10.1 | 54.4 |
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Alaska modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: The witness requirement was suspended.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 3 election, the Republican Party held the At-Large Congressional District seat from Alaska.
| Members of the U.S. House from Alaska -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2020 | After the 2020 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
Incumbents
Heading into the 2020 election, the incumbent for the one At-Large Congressional District was:
| Name | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Don Young |  Republican |
1 |
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Incumbent Don Young defeated Alyse Galvin and Gerald Heikes in the general election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Don Young (R) | 54.4 | 192,126 |
 | Alyse Galvin (Nonpartisan) | 45.3 | 159,856 | |
| Gerald Heikes (R) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 1,183 | ||
| Total votes: 353,165 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Thomas Lamb (Nonpartisan)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Incumbent Don Young defeated Thomas Nelson and Gerald Heikes in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Don Young | 76.1 | 51,972 |
| Thomas Nelson | 18.1 | 12,344 | ||
| Gerald Heikes | 5.8 | 3,954 | ||
| Total votes: 68,270 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Arianna Cocallas (R)
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Alyse Galvin defeated Ray Sean Tugatuk and William Hibler in the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alyse Galvin | 85.8 | 53,258 |
| Ray Sean Tugatuk | 7.8 | 4,858 | ||
 | William Hibler | 6.3 | 3,931 | |
| Total votes: 62,047 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+9, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alaska's At-Large Congressional District the 141st most Republican nationally.[3]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.16. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.16 points toward that party.[4]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Young | Republican Party | $1,950,290 | $1,817,837 | $249,173 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Gerald Heikes | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Alyse Galvin | Nonpartisan | $5,253,252 | $5,162,903 | $96,594 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[5]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[6][7][8]
| Race ratings: Alaska's At-large Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Alaska in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Alaska, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Alaska | At-large District | Democratic | N/A | N/A | $100.00 | Fixed number | 6/1/2020 | Source |
| Alaska | At-large District | Independence | N/A | N/A | $100.00 | Fixed number | 6/1/2020 | Source |
| Alaska | At-large District | Republican | N/A | N/A | $100.00 | Fixed number | 6/1/2020 | Source |
| Alaska | At-large District | Unaffiliated | 2,850 | 1% of votes cast in the last general election | N/A | N/A | 8/18/2020 | Source |
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states. No counties in Alaska are Pivot Counties.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Alaska with 51.3 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 36.6 percent. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 5.9 percent, which was his third-best showing in a state in 2016.[9] From when it gained statehood in 1959 to 2017, Alaska voted Republican in 14 out of 15 presidential elections. The only time it voted Democratic was in 1964 when President Lyndon Johnson (D) defeated Senator Barry Goldwater (R) with 61.1 percent of the national vote.[10] From 1960 to 2016, Alaska voted for the winning presidential candidate in 60 percent of presidential elections.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Alaska. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[11][12]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 13 out of 40 state House districts in Alaska with an average margin of victory of 20.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 13 out of 40 state House districts in Alaska with an average margin of victory of 17.3 points. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 27 out of 40 state House districts in Alaska with an average margin of victory of 27.5 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 27 out of 40 state House districts in Alaska with an average margin of victory of 27.4 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 43.1% | 53.0% | R+9.9 | 40.2% | 49.5% | R+9.4 | D |
| 2 | 35.1% | 61.6% | R+26.5 | 29.9% | 59.9% | R+30.1 | R |
| 3 | 21.9% | 74.9% | R+53 | 16.8% | 73.1% | R+56.2 | R |
| 4 | 48.1% | 47.0% | D+1.1 | 45.4% | 44.3% | D+1.1 | D |
| 5 | 42.0% | 53.7% | R+11.7 | 41.7% | 48.1% | R+6.4 | D |
| 6 | 34.6% | 61.3% | R+26.6 | 30.9% | 59.9% | R+29 | R |
| 7 | 22.6% | 74.3% | R+51.7 | 18.7% | 73.2% | R+54.6 | R |
| 8 | 21.5% | 75.3% | R+53.8 | 15.4% | 77.3% | R+61.9 | R |
| 9 | 28.0% | 68.3% | R+40.3 | 21.2% | 69.8% | R+48.7 | R |
| 10 | 26.2% | 70.1% | R+43.9 | 20.5% | 70.9% | R+50.4 | R |
| 11 | 25.9% | 70.8% | R+44.8 | 22.8% | 68.6% | R+45.7 | R |
| 12 | 25.3% | 71.9% | R+46.6 | 20.8% | 71.2% | R+50.4 | R |
| 13 | 30.3% | 66.6% | R+36.2 | 26.6% | 63.5% | R+36.9 | R |
| 14 | 30.5% | 67.0% | R+36.5 | 30.4% | 59.5% | R+29.2 | R |
| 15 | 42.6% | 54.5% | R+11.9 | 37.8% | 52.0% | R+14.3 | R |
| 16 | 47.7% | 49.3% | R+1.6 | 45.7% | 44.4% | D+1.4 | D |
| 17 | 51.3% | 44.9% | D+6.4 | 50.1% | 39.8% | D+10.3 | D |
| 18 | 56.4% | 40.4% | D+16 | 54.2% | 37.2% | D+17.1 | D |
| 19 | 62.8% | 34.0% | D+28.9 | 56.8% | 34.8% | D+22.1 | D |
| 20 | 61.9% | 34.5% | D+27.4 | 59.9% | 31.5% | D+28.4 | D |
| 21 | 50.2% | 46.9% | D+3.3 | 50.1% | 41.2% | D+8.9 | D |
| 22 | 39.1% | 57.7% | R+18.6 | 40.3% | 51.7% | R+11.4 | I |
| 23 | 44.0% | 53.0% | R+9 | 42.8% | 47.9% | R+5.1 | D |
| 24 | 37.7% | 59.9% | R+22.2 | 39.6% | 52.0% | R+12.4 | R |
| 25 | 43.2% | 54.0% | R+10.8 | 42.6% | 48.1% | R+5.4 | R |
| 26 | 38.1% | 59.3% | R+21.2 | 39.0% | 52.5% | R+13.5 | R |
| 27 | 43.6% | 53.3% | R+9.7 | 43.7% | 47.8% | R+4.1 | R |
| 28 | 41.5% | 55.9% | R+14.4 | 42.8% | 48.8% | R+6 | R |
| 29 | 26.2% | 70.4% | R+44.2 | 23.0% | 69.2% | R+46.3 | R |
| 30 | 24.3% | 72.8% | R+48.5 | 20.8% | 70.7% | R+49.9 | R |
| 31 | 37.5% | 58.8% | R+21.2 | 34.8% | 56.3% | R+21.5 | R |
| 32 | 41.6% | 54.9% | R+13.4 | 37.1% | 51.6% | R+14.5 | R |
| 33 | 63.2% | 31.9% | D+31.3 | 61.9% | 28.2% | D+33.7 | D |
| 34 | 50.5% | 45.7% | D+4.8 | 46.1% | 43.1% | D+3 | D |
| 35 | 51.0% | 44.7% | D+6.4 | 42.7% | 46.6% | R+4 | D |
| 36 | 41.0% | 54.4% | R+13.5 | 33.5% | 55.3% | R+21.8 | I |
| 37 | 55.8% | 40.6% | D+15.2 | 49.4% | 39.5% | D+9.9 | D |
| 38 | 72.1% | 23.4% | D+48.7 | 57.7% | 23.9% | D+33.8 | D |
| 39 | 69.1% | 26.1% | D+42.9 | 59.7% | 26.7% | D+33.1 | D |
| 40 | 64.8% | 31.8% | D+33.1 | 54.1% | 31.8% | D+22.3 | D |
| Total | 41.2% | 55.3% | R+14.1 | 37.6% | 52.8% | R+15.2 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
District election history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Incumbent Don Young defeated Alyse Galvin in the general election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Don Young (R) | 53.3 | 149,779 |
| Alyse Galvin (D) | 46.7 | 131,199 | |
| Total votes: 280,978 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Alyse Galvin defeated Dimitri Shein, Carol Hafner, and Christopher Cumings in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alyse Galvin | 53.6 | 21,742 |
 | Dimitri Shein | 23.3 | 9,434 | |
 | Carol Hafner | 15.0 | 6,071 | |
| Christopher Cumings | 8.1 | 3,304 | ||
| Total votes: 40,551 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Greg Fitch (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District
Incumbent Don Young defeated Thomas Nelson and Jed Whittaker in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Don Young | 70.8 | 49,667 |
| Thomas Nelson | 15.6 | 10,913 | ||
| Jed Whittaker | 13.6 | 9,525 | ||
| Total votes: 70,105 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Don Young (R) defeated Steve Lindbeck (D), Jim McDermott (L), Bernie Souphanavong (I), and Stephen Wright (R Write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Young defeated Gerald Heikes, Jesse Tingley, and Stephen Wright in the Republican primary, while Lindbeck defeated William Hibler and Lynette Hinz to win the Democratic nomination. Jim McDermott defeated Jon Briggs Watts in the Libertarian primary. The primary elections took place on August 16, 2016.[13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Don Young Incumbent |
50.3% | 155,088 | |
| Democratic | Steve Lindbeck | 36% | 111,019 | |
| Libertarian | Jim McDermott | 10.3% | 31,770 | |
| Independent | Bernie Souphanavong | 3% | 9,093 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.4% | 1,228 | |
| Total Votes | 308,198 | |||
| Source: Alaska Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Don Young Incumbent |
71.5% | 38,998 | ||
| Stephen Wright | 18.7% | 10,189 | ||
| Gerald Heikes | 5.2% | 2,817 | ||
| Jesse Tingley | 4.6% | 2,524 | ||
| Total Votes | 54,528 | |||
| Source: Alaska Division of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Steve Lindbeck |
67.9% | 17,009 | ||
| Lynette Hinz | 20.5% | 5,130 | ||
| William Hibler | 11.6% | 2,918 | ||
| Total Votes | 25,057 | |||
| Source: Alaska Division of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jim McDermott |
71.4% | 3,960 | ||
| Jon Briggs Watts | 28.6% | 1,583 | ||
| Total Votes | 5,543 | |||
| Source: Alaska Division of Elections |
||||
2014
Alaska's At-Large Congressional District held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Don Young (R) defeated Forrest Dunbar (D) and Jim McDermott (L) in the general election.
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2020
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2020
- Republican Party battleground primaries, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "August 18, 2020 Primary Election Information," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "2016 Presidential General Election Data - National," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ 270towin.com, "Historical Presidential Elections," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Alaska House Races Results," August 16, 2016
| |||||||||||
