In the two presidential elections that Donald Trump has contested, Alaska gave him over 51% and nearly 53% votes in 2016 and 2020 respectively
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Alaska holds a unique place in America’s settlement history with demography scientists insisting that it was here that the first wave of migration happened around 15,000 years ago. The migrating people are often called Amerind — combining American and Indian — as the stock moved from Asia to the so-called New World. Two more distinct waves of migrations happened over millennia to give America its current demographic composition.
Famous for its gold reserves, Alaska became an American land when it purchased the region from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. However, Alaska became part of the American Union only in 1959 as the 49th state. Its first participation in an American presidential election happened in 1960.
Who are the voters in Alaska?
Alaska is the least densely populated among all 50 American states and the District of Columbia. The US Census data shows that about 58 per cent of 733,000 people in Alaska are White, followed by about 15 per cent American Indians, about 10 per cent of mixed race and the rest are categorised as “diffused”.
There are over 537,000 registered voters in Alaska, with more voters having pledged to vote for the Republican Party than those vouching for the Democratic Party.
In the US presidential election, Alaska has three votes — electors.
How has it voted in the past?
Except for Democratic candidate Lyndon Johnson, who routed Barry Goldwater in 1964, Alaska has always voted for the Republican Party in an American presidential election.
In the Senate elections, Alaska has not voted for a Democratic Party candidate barring 2008. In the election for the House of Representative, Alaska voted for the Democratic Party in 2022 for the first time. In gubernatorial elections, the last time Alaska voted a Democratic nominee was in 1998.
In the two presidential elections that Donald Trump has contested, Alaska gave him over 51 per cent and nearly 53 per cent votes in 2016 and 2020 respectively. In his fight against Joe Biden in 2020, Trump secured a lead of over 10 percentage points.
Can it swing?
Alaska does not have the reputation of having been a swing state. It has solidly stood behind a Republican nominee. American election observers say it is unlikely that the Alaskan voters will make a switch for Kamala Harris.
Has Alaska given the US a president?
Largest in area among all American states and among the largest subnational divisions in the world, Alaska is yet to give the US a president.
Is there any memorable election for the state?
The election of 1964 remains the most memorable for being an outlier, with Democratic nominee Johnson defeating Republican Barry Goldwater. In recent years, the Democratic party has polled slightly higher vote percentage — Barack Obama in his second run for the US president polled over 40 per cent of the polled votes in 2016 and Joe Biden got over 42 per cent against Trump in 2020.
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Publish date : 2024-10-18 07:35:00
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