Democrats flipped the mayoralty in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska (Trump+15) by 154 votes in results tabulated last night. nationalzero.com/2024/1…
I know we're all obsessed with the presidential election this year (and there are a lot of marble riding on it!) but it is really nice to see the trends in Alaska (and of course the slower trend in Texas). The potential for two Senate seats over the long term in a low population state is great.
I'd also add that it has been a state thats benefitted from government spending. At one point AK republicans could get away with supporting that without facing blowback in the national party, but as the GOP moves hard right, alot of programs that Alaskans rely on are being threatened/cut. I'd also wager that AK is culturally aligning with other west coast states, albeit slowly.
The original "conventional wisdom" was that Alaska was going to be a hardcore Democratic state because of government spending. And that Hawaii was going to be a hardcore Republican state because of tourism and the military presence. Sometimes you don't know.
Democrats flipped the mayoralty in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska (Trump+15) by 154 votes in results tabulated last night. https://nationalzero.com/2024/10/09/alaskas-fairbanks-north-star-borough-elects-democrat-mayor/
Nice! Also, I didn't know that there were any special/oddly time elections left before November.
Democrats also flipped the Anchorage Mayor earlier this year
I know we're all obsessed with the presidential election this year (and there are a lot of marble riding on it!) but it is really nice to see the trends in Alaska (and of course the slower trend in Texas). The potential for two Senate seats over the long term in a low population state is great.
Will be curious to see if Harris can close the gap further. On that list of states that swung by 5%+ 2016 -> 2020 Alaska just missed the cut at 4.67%.
Does anyone know why Alaska is trending blue? I’m not sure, but I’m curious to know.
It's a very urban/suburban, irreligious state with a large Native population.
I'd also add that it has been a state thats benefitted from government spending. At one point AK republicans could get away with supporting that without facing blowback in the national party, but as the GOP moves hard right, alot of programs that Alaskans rely on are being threatened/cut. I'd also wager that AK is culturally aligning with other west coast states, albeit slowly.
The original "conventional wisdom" was that Alaska was going to be a hardcore Democratic state because of government spending. And that Hawaii was going to be a hardcore Republican state because of tourism and the military presence. Sometimes you don't know.