Presidential elections in Alaska
Map of the United States with Alaska highlighted
Number of elections16
Voted Democratic1
Voted Republican15
Voted other0
Voted for winning candidate9
Voted for losing candidate7

Since Alaska's admission to the Union in January 1959,[1][2] it has participated in 16 United States presidential elections, always having 3 electoral votes. In the 1960 presidential election, Alaska was narrowly won by the Republican Party's candidate and incumbent vice president Richard Nixon, defeating the Democratic Party's candidate John F. Kennedy by a margin of just 1.88% (1,144 votes).[3][4] In the 1964 presidential election, the Democratic Party's candidate Lyndon B. Johnson won Alaska in a national Democratic landslide victory.[5][6] Since the 1964 election, Alaska has been won by the Republican Party in every presidential election.[7]

Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate in the 1984 presidential election, won Alaska by 36.78%,[8] which remains the largest margin of victory in the state's history. Ross Perot, the independent candidate in the 1992 presidential election, received the highest vote share (28.43%)[9] ever won by a third-party candidate in Alaska. Various news organizations have characterized Alaska as a safe Republican state.[10][11][12] No Republican has won the presidency without carrying Alaska since its statehood in 1959 due to Lyndon B. Johnson being the only Democrat candidate to ever carry the state. Alaska is tied with Idaho, Utah, Wyoming. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma for the longest Republican voting streak for any state in recent political history, from 1968 to present.

Presidential elections

Key for parties
  American Independent Party – (AI)
  Democratic Party – (D)
  Green Party – (G)
  Independent candidate – (I)
  Libertarian Party – (LI)
  Reform Party – (RE)
  Republican Party – (R)
Note – A double dagger (‡) indicates the national winner.
Presidential elections in Alaska from 1960 to present
Year Winner Runner-up Other candidate[a] EV Ref.
Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes %
1960
 Richard Nixon (R) 30,953 50.94% John F. Kennedy (D) ‡ 29,809 49.06%
–
–
–
 3
[3][13][14]
1964
 Lyndon B. Johnson (D) ‡ 44,329 65.91% Barry Goldwater (R) 22,930 34.09%
–
–
–
 3
[15][16][17]
1968
 Richard Nixon (R) ‡ 37,600 45.28% Hubert Humphrey (D) 35,411 42.65% George Wallace (AI) 10,024 12.07% 3
[18][19][20]
1972
 Richard Nixon (R) ‡ 55,349 58.13% George McGovern (D) 32,967 34.62% John G. Schmitz (AI) 6,903 7.25% 3
[21][22][23]
1976
 Gerald Ford (R) 71,555 57.90% Jimmy Carter (D) ‡ 44,058 35.65% Roger MacBride (LI) 6,785 5.49% 3
[24][25][26]
1980
 Ronald Reagan (R) ‡ 86,112 54.35% Jimmy Carter (D) 41,842 26.41% Ed Clark (LI) 18,479 11.66% 3
[27][28][29]
1984
 Ronald Reagan (R) ‡ 138,377 66.65% Walter Mondale (D) 62,007 29.87% David Bergland (LI) 6,378 3.07% 3
[8][30][31]
1988
 George H. W. Bush (R) ‡ 119,251 59.59% Michael Dukakis (D) 72,584 36.27% Ron Paul (LI) 5,484 2.74% 3
[32][33][34]
1992
 George H. W. Bush (R) 102,000 39.46% Bill Clinton (D) ‡ 78,294 30.29% Ross Perot (I) 73,481 28.43% 3
[9][35]
1996
 Bob Dole (R) 122,746 50.80% Bill Clinton (D) ‡ 80,380 33.27% Ross Perot (RE) 26,333 10.90% 3
[36][37]
2000
 George W. Bush (R) ‡ 167,398 58.62% Al Gore (D) 79,004 27.67% Ralph Nader (G) 28,747 10.07% 3
[38][39]
2004
 George W. Bush (R) ‡ 190,889 61.07% John Kerry (D) 111,025 35.52% Ralph Nader (I) 5,069 1.62% 3
[40][41]
2008
 John McCain (R) 193,841 59.42% Barack Obama (D) ‡ 123,594 37.89% Ralph Nader (I) 3,783 1.16% 3
[42][43]
2012
 Mitt Romney (R) 164,676 54.80% Barack Obama (D) ‡ 122,640 40.81% Gary Johnson (LI) 7,392 2.46% 3
[44]
2016
 Donald Trump (R) ‡ 163,387 51.28% Hillary Clinton (D) 116,454 36.55% Gary Johnson (LI) 18,725 5.88% 3
[45]
2020
 Donald Trump (R) 189,951 52.83% Joe Biden (D) ‡ 153,778 42.77% Jo Jorgensen (LI) 8,897 2.47% 3
[46]

Graph

The following graph shows the margin of victory of the winner over the runner-up in the 16 presidential elections Alaska participated.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ For purposes of this list, other candidates are defined as those who were in third place in Alaska.

References

  1. ^ Mooney, Richard E. (January 4, 1959). "Alaska Becomes the 49th State". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Alaska Statehood". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 789.
  4. ^ Slotnick, Herman E. (1961). "The 1960 Election in Alaska". The Western Political Quarterly. 14 (1). University of Utah Press: 300–304. doi:10.2307/443850. JSTOR 443850.
  5. ^ Slotnick, Herman E. (1965). "The 1964 Election in Alaska". The Western Political Quarterly. 18 (2). University of Utah Press: 439–442. doi:10.2307/445288. JSTOR 445288. S2CID 187243432.
  6. ^ "The Johnson Landslide". The New York Times. November 4, 1964. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  7. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Graph Comparison – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Leip, David. "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 797.
  10. ^ Jones, Jeffrey M. (February 14, 2015). "Massachusetts, Maryland Most Democratic States". Gallup Polls. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  11. ^ "Alaska Presidential Result". CNN. December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Weigel, David (September 22, 2020). "The 50 political states of America". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Leip, David. "1960 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  14. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 118.
  15. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 790.
  16. ^ Leip, David. "1964 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 119.
  18. ^ Leip, David. "1968 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  19. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 791.
  20. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 120.
  21. ^ Leip, David. "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  22. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 792.
  23. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 121.
  24. ^ Leip, David. "1976 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  25. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 793.
  26. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 122.
  27. ^ Leip, David. "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  28. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 794.
  29. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 123.
  30. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 795.
  31. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 124.
  32. ^ Leip, David. "1988 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  33. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 796.
  34. ^ Presidential elections 1997, p. 125.
  35. ^ "State of Alaska Official Results – November 3, 1993 General Election" (PDF). Lieutenant governor of Alaska. December 2, 1992. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  36. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 798.
  37. ^ "Official – State of Alaska – General – November 5, 1996". Lieutenant governor of Alaska. November 27, 1996. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  38. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 799.
  39. ^ "Election Summary Report – State of Alaska General Election 2000 – Summary for Jurisdiction Wide, All Races Official Results". Lieutenant governor of Alaska. December 5, 2000. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  40. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 800.
  41. ^ "State of Alaska – 2004 General Election – November 2, 2004 – Official Results" (PDF). Lieutenant governor of Alaska. December 3, 2004. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  42. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections 2010, p. 801.
  43. ^ "State of Alaska – 2008 General Election – November 4, 2008 – Official Results" (PDF). Lieutenant governor of Alaska. December 3, 2008. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  44. ^ "Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  45. ^ "Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  46. ^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election Result" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. pp. 2–8. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.

Works cited

Category