Alaska's at-large congressional district

Alaska's At-large congressional district
Current Representative		Don Young (R–Fort Yukon)
Area	570,641 mi2
Distribution	65.7% urban, 34.3% rural
Population (2014)	736,732
Median income	$57,431
Ethnicity	64.1% White, 3.1% Black, 5.3% Asian, 5.5% Hispanic, 14.4% Native American, 7.6% other
Occupation	22.4% blue collar, 60.5% white collar, 17.1% gray collar
Cook PVI	R+12

Alaska's at-large Congressional District is the sole congressional district for the state of Alaska. Based on size, it is the largest congressional district in the nation and is one of the largest electoral districts in the world.

The district has been represented by Republican Don Young since March 6, 1973.

History

The district was first created when Alaska achieved statehood on January 3, 1959, electing a single member. Since its creation, Alaska has retained a single congressional district.

Voter registration

Voter registration as of December 3, 2015
Party		Total voters	Percentage
	Democratic	70,052	13.70%
	Republican	135,644	26.53%
	Minor parties	26,887	5.26%
	Unaffiliated	278,727	54.51%
Total		511,310	100%

Presidential elections

• 2000: Gore - 27.67%, Bush - 58.62%, Third Party - 13.71%
• 2004: Kerry - 35.52%, Bush - 61.07%, Third Party - 3.42%
• 2008: Obama - 37.89%, McCain - 59.42%, Third Party - 2.69%
• 2012: Obama - 40.81%, Romney - 54.80%, Third Party - 4.39%

Average - Democratic (35.47%), Republican (58.48%), Third Party (6.05%)

List of representatives

See also: Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district

Representative	Party	Term	Notes
District created January 3, 1959
Ralph J. Rivers	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – December 30, 1966	Lost re-election, then resigned
Vacant		December 30, 1966 – January 3, 1967
Howard W. Pollock	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1971	Retired
Nick Begich	Democratic	January 3, 1971 – December 29, 1972	Went missing October 16, 1972 Declared dead December 29, 1972
Vacant		December 29, 1972 – March 6, 1973
Don Young	Republican	March 6, 1973 – present	Incumbent

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 2004

Year		Republican				Democratic				Green				Libertarian				Others				Write-in
		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 (inc.)	33,546	56.8%
1962		Lowell Thomas, Jr.	26,638	44%		Ralph Rivers (inc.)	33,953	56%
1964		Lowell Thomas, Jr.	32,556	48.5%		Ralph Rivers (inc.)	34,590	51.5%
1966		Howard W. Pollock	34,040	51.6%		Ralph Rivers (inc.)	31,867	48.4%
1968		Howard W. Pollock (inc.)	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 (inc.)	53,651	56.2%
1973		Don Young	35,044	51.4%		Emil Notti	33,123	48.6%
1974		Don Young (inc.)	51,641	53.8%		William L. Hensley	44,280	46.2%
1976		Don Young (inc.)	83,722	70.8%		Eben Hopson	34,194	28.9%														292	0.2%
1978		Don Young (inc.)	68,811	55.4%		Patrick Rodey	55,176	44.4%														200	0.2%
1980		Don Young (inc.)	114,089	73.8%		Kevin Parnell	39,922	25.8%														607	0.4%
1982		Don Young (inc.)	128,274	70.8%		Dave Carlson	52,011	28.7%														799	0.4%
1984		Don Young (inc.)	113,582	55%		Pegge Begich	86,052	41.7%										Betty Breck (I)	6,508	3.2%		295	0.1%
1986		Don Young (inc.)	101,799	56.5%		Pegge Begich	74,053	41.1%						Betty Breck	4,182	2.3%						243	0.1%
1988		Don Young (inc.)	120,595	62.5%		Peter Gruenstein	71,881	37.3%														479	0.2%
1990		Don Young (inc.)	99,003	51.7%		John S. Devens	91,677	47.8%														967	0.5%
1992		Don Young (inc.)	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 (inc.)	118,537	56.9%		Tony Smith	68,172	32.7%		Joni Whitmore	21,277	10.2%										254	0.1%
1996		Don Young (inc.)	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 (inc.)	139,676	62.6%		Jim Duncan	77,232	34.6%		John J. G. Grames	5,923	2.7%										469	0.2%
2000		Don Young (inc.)	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 (inc.)	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 (inc.)	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%
Year		Republican				Democratic				Green				Libertarian				Others				Write-in

Source:

2006 election

United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (inc.)	132,743	56.57	-14.50
	Democratic	Diane Benson	93,879	40.01	+17.65
	Libertarian	Alexander Crawford	4,029	1.72	-0.67
	Green	Eva Ince	1,819	0.78	-3.03
	Independent	William Ratigan	1,615	0.69
	Independent	Write-In Votes	560	0.24	-.13
	Republican hold		Swing
Turnout			234,645

2008 election

United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (inc.)	158,939	50.14	-6.43
	Democratic	Ethan Berkowitz	142,560	44.98	+4.97
	Independent	Don Wright	14,274	4.50	+4.50
	Independent	Write-In Votes	1,205	0.38	+0.14
	Republican hold		Swing
Turnout			316,978

2010 election

United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (inc.)	175,384	68.96	+18.82
	Democratic	Harry Crawford	77,606	30.51	-14.47
	Independent	Write-In Votes	1,345	0.53	+0.15
	Republican hold		Swing
Turnout			254,335

2012 election

United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (inc.)	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

United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (inc.)	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

Living former Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large congressional district

As of May 2015, there are no former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large congressional district who are currently living at this time.

References

• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present