Government of Alaska
Encyclopedia
The government of Alaska is divided into various departments. Alaska
has 246 federally recognized tribal governments and one federal Indian (Native American) reservation
.
, in 1957 and 1958, debated the wisdom of admitting it as the 49th state, much of the political debate centered on whether Alaska would become a Democratic
or Republican
-leaning state. Conventional wisdom had it that, with its penchant for new ideas and dependence on the Federal Government
largess for basic needs, it would become a Democratic stronghold, about which Republicans, and the Republican Administration of Dwight Eisenhower had reservations. Given time, those fears proved unfounded. After an early flirtatious period with liberal politics, the political climate of Alaska changed quickly once petroleum
was discovered and the federal government came to be seen as 'meddling' in local affairs. Still, despite its libertarian leanings, the state regularly takes in more federal money than it gives out, a fact that can be attributed at least partially to its equal representation in the United States Senate
.
, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice
, the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Alaska Permanent Fund
, the Alaska Volcano Observatory
, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
, Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
, and the Alaska State Pension Investment Board.
Alaska has a well-functioning Legislature and court system
.
s (including unified municipalities), as opposed to "counties." The function is the same, but whereas some states use a three-tiered system of decentralization — state/county/township — most of Alaska only uses two tiers — state/borough. Owing to the state's low population density, most of the land is located in the Unorganized Borough
which, as the name implies, has no intermediate borough government of its own, but is administered directly by the state government. Currently (2000 census
) 57.71 percent of Alaska's land area has this status; however, its population comprises only 13.05 percent of the state's total. For statistical purposes the United States Census Bureau
divides this territory into census areas. Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1971 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper, and the bedroom communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks, on the other hand, has a separate borough (the Fairbanks North Star Borough) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).
-leaning state with strong libertarian
tendencies. Local political communities often work on issues related to land use development, fishing
, tourism
, and individual rights
as many residents are proud of their rough Alaskan heritage.
The Alaska Legislature
consists of a 20-member Senate serving 4-year terms and 40-member House of Representatives serving 2-year terms. Since 1994, it has been dominated by conservatives, generally Republicans (although currently there is a bipartisan working group in the Senate). Likewise, recent state governors have been mostly conservatives, although not always elected under the Republican Party banner. Republican Wally Hickel
was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican Party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party
ticket just long enough to be reelected. He subsequently officially rejoined the Republican fold in 1994.
Alaska's current members of the United States Congress
are two Republicans and one Democrat. Republican Senator Ted Stevens
was appointed to the position following the death of Senator Bob Bartlett
in December 1968 and was re-elected until his defeat in the 2008 election
by Democrat Mark Begich
. As the longest-serving Republican in the Senate—sometimes nicknamed a "senator for life"—Stevens was a crucial force in gaining Federal money for the state.
Until his resignation from the United States Senate
after being elected governor, Republican Frank Murkowski
held the state's other Senate seat and, as governor, was allowed to appoint his daughter, Lisa Murkowski
, as his successor. She won a full six-year term on her own in 2004.
Alaska's sole U.S. Representative
, Don Young
, was re-elected to his 19th consecutive term in 2008. His seniority in House makes him one of the most influential Republican House members. His position on the House Transportation Committee allowed him to parlay some $450 million to the Gravina Island Bridge
and the Knik Arm Bridge
, both derided as "bridges to nowhere".
Recent and ongoing U.S. Justice Department probes continue into Alaskan politics. Stevens, who had served since 1968, was caught up in a larger probe that included Federal Bureau of Investigation
raids in summer 2007 at the offices of six Alaska legislators, including Stevens' son, Ben
, who was then the president of the state Senate, and a raid on Senator Ted Stevens' personal home. Stevens drew the FBI and Justice Department attention over his home renovation project done in 2000, which more than doubled the size of his home. Bill Allen, founder of VECO Corporation, an oil supplying and engineering company, oversaw the work at Senator Steven's home. Bill Allen has since pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. Alaska lawmakers went as far as embroidering ball caps with the letters CBC, for "Corrupt Bastards Club." The Washington Post describes more into the political scandals with its article entitled "I'll sell my soul to the Devil" from a tape quote from Pete Kott, former Republican speaker of the Alaskan legislature. On October 27, 2008, Stevens was convicted on seven counts of making false statements. His conviction was reversed , six months after he lost the election to the Democrat, because of misconduct by prosecutors.
Political party strength in Alaska
has varied over the years.
Alaska is also the only state in the union to allow legal possession of marijuana within one's home. An adult may legally possess less than four ounces of marijuana in their home. This court ruling (2003) came about because of Alaska's constitution prohibiting one's invasion of their privacy. The Alaska appeals court declared this so despite a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of all amounts of the drug. The court ruled that voters, who approved the criminalization measure, did not have authority to change the state constitution protecting one's privacy. Alaska today continues to be one of the few states in the nation which protects one's privacy under their state constitution. Although Alaska is a progressive (liberal) state with releasing state government information to the public, it is also a restrictive (conservative) state when issues involve one's "privacy" rights guaranteed by its state constitution. An example is with the U.S. Patriot Act, which in part forces governmental entities to release book titles circulated to patrons; however, cities like Anchorage, Alaska have frequently challenged or denied release of such information sought under the Patriot Act claiming it would violate their own state constitution. The city of Anchorage passed resolution No. 2003-7777 in 2010, which bars the use of municipal resources in enforcing the USA Patriot Act in releasing library records.
Alaska possesses a pervasively strong independence movement favoring secession from the US, with the Alaskan Independence Party
labeled one of "the most significant state-level third parties operating in the 20th century".
In presidential elections, the state's Electoral College votes have been most often won by a Republican nominee. Only once has Alaska supported a Democratic
nominee, when it supported Lyndon B. Johnson
in the landslide year of 1964, although the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. President George W. Bush
won the state's electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 25 percentage points with 61.1% of the vote.
The communities of Juneau
, Sitka, downtown and midtown Anchorage
, and "the Bush
," stand out as Democratic strongholds, while the Kenai Peninsula
, Matanuska-Susitna Valley
, parts of Anchorage, and Fairbanks
, Ketchikan
, Wrangell
, and Petersburg
serve as the Republican Party electoral base.
On August 29, 2008 Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain
named Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin
as the GOP Vice-Presidential nominee. His campaign
was not successful in winning the 2008 presidential election.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
has 246 federally recognized tribal governments and one federal Indian (Native American) reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
.
History
When the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, in 1957 and 1958, debated the wisdom of admitting it as the 49th state, much of the political debate centered on whether Alaska would become a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
or Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-leaning state. Conventional wisdom had it that, with its penchant for new ideas and dependence on the Federal Government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
largess for basic needs, it would become a Democratic stronghold, about which Republicans, and the Republican Administration of Dwight Eisenhower had reservations. Given time, those fears proved unfounded. After an early flirtatious period with liberal politics, the political climate of Alaska changed quickly once petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
was discovered and the federal government came to be seen as 'meddling' in local affairs. Still, despite its libertarian leanings, the state regularly takes in more federal money than it gives out, a fact that can be attributed at least partially to its equal representation in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Government of Alaska
The Governor of Alaska is the senior-most official of the Alaska executive branch; see List of Governors of Alaska. Alaska executive branch agencies include the Alaska Department of Health and Social ServicesAlaska Department of Health and Social Services
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is a state agency of Alaska, headquartered in Juneau.-External links:*...
, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice
Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice
The Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice is a state agency of Alaska that operates juvenile correctional facilities; it is a division of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services...
, the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Alaska Permanent Fund
Alaska Permanent Fund
The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976, primarily by the efforts of then Governor Jay Hammond...
, the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys...
, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of Alaska. The Department of Fish and Game manages Alaska's fish, game, and aquatic plant resources.-History:...
, Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development is the state agency controlling primary and secondary education in Alaska. It is headquartered in Juneau.-External links:*...
, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Alaska Department of Natural Resources
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska. The Department of Natural Resources develops, conserves and enhances natural resources for present and future Alaskans....
, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is a quasi-judicial agency in the U.S. state of Alaska, within Alaska's Department of Administration. It was originally established in 1955, was subsequently abolished, but was eventually reestablished...
, and the Alaska State Pension Investment Board.
Alaska has a well-functioning Legislature and court system
Alaska Court System
The Alaska Court System is the unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded judicial system for the State of Alaska. It has four levels of state courts: the Alaska Supreme Court, the Alaska Court of Appeals, the Alaska Superior Court, and the Alaska District Court...
.
Administrative divisions
Alaska is divided into 16 boroughBorough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s (including unified municipalities), as opposed to "counties." The function is the same, but whereas some states use a three-tiered system of decentralization — state/county/township — most of Alaska only uses two tiers — state/borough. Owing to the state's low population density, most of the land is located in the Unorganized Borough
Unorganized Borough
The Unorganized Borough is the part of the U.S. state of Alaska not contained in any of its 18 organized boroughs. It encompasses more than half of Alaska's area, , an area larger than any other US state...
which, as the name implies, has no intermediate borough government of its own, but is administered directly by the state government. Currently (2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
) 57.71 percent of Alaska's land area has this status; however, its population comprises only 13.05 percent of the state's total. For statistical purposes the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
divides this territory into census areas. Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1971 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper, and the bedroom communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks, on the other hand, has a separate borough (the Fairbanks North Star Borough) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).
Politics
Alaska is often characterized as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-leaning state with strong libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
tendencies. Local political communities often work on issues related to land use development, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, and individual rights
Individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
as many residents are proud of their rough Alaskan heritage.
The Alaska Legislature
Alaska Legislature
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members...
consists of a 20-member Senate serving 4-year terms and 40-member House of Representatives serving 2-year terms. Since 1994, it has been dominated by conservatives, generally Republicans (although currently there is a bipartisan working group in the Senate). Likewise, recent state governors have been mostly conservatives, although not always elected under the Republican Party banner. Republican Wally Hickel
Walter Joseph Hickel
Walter Joseph "Wally" Hickel was an industrialist, focused mostly on construction and real estate development, and a politician of the Republican and Alaskan Independence parties from the U.S. state of Alaska. Hickel served as the second and eighth Governor of Alaska...
was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican Party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party
Alaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska that advocates an in-state referendum which includes the option of Alaska becoming an independent country...
ticket just long enough to be reelected. He subsequently officially rejoined the Republican fold in 1994.
Alaska's current members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
are two Republicans and one Democrat. Republican Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
was appointed to the position following the death of Senator Bob Bartlett
Bob Bartlett
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party.Bartlett was born in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from the University of Alaska in 1925, Bartlett began his career in politics...
in December 1968 and was re-elected until his defeat in the 2008 election
United States Senate election in Alaska, 2008
The 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens ran for re-election. It was one of the ten Senate races that U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, predicted as...
by Democrat Mark Begich
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich is the junior United States Senator from Alaska and a member of the Democratic Party. A former mayor of Anchorage, he served on the Anchorage Assembly for almost ten years prior to being elected mayor in 2003...
. As the longest-serving Republican in the Senate—sometimes nicknamed a "senator for life"—Stevens was a crucial force in gaining Federal money for the state.
Until his resignation from the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
after being elected governor, Republican Frank Murkowski
Frank Murkowski
Francis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.- Early life and career :...
held the state's other Senate seat and, as governor, was allowed to appoint his daughter, Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Alaska and a member of the Republican Party. She was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski. After losing a Republican primary in 2010, she became the second person ever to win a U.S...
, as his successor. She won a full six-year term on her own in 2004.
Alaska's sole U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Don Young
Don Young
Donald Edwin "Don" Young is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1973. He is a member of the Republican Party.Young is the 6th most senior U.S. Representative and the 2nd most senior Republican Representative, as well as the 2nd most senior Republican in Congress as a whole...
, was re-elected to his 19th consecutive term in 2008. His seniority in House makes him one of the most influential Republican House members. His position on the House Transportation Committee allowed him to parlay some $450 million to the Gravina Island Bridge
Gravina Island Bridge
The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, with Gravina Island, an island which contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was...
and the Knik Arm Bridge
Knik Arm Bridge
The Knik Arm Bridge is a controversial proposed highway crossing of the Knik Arm portion of Cook Inlet, north of Anchorage, Alaska. The project has also been referred to as "Don Young's Way", after Alaskan Congressman Don Young who strongly supported the project when he was Chair of the House...
, both derided as "bridges to nowhere".
Recent and ongoing U.S. Justice Department probes continue into Alaskan politics. Stevens, who had served since 1968, was caught up in a larger probe that included Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
raids in summer 2007 at the offices of six Alaska legislators, including Stevens' son, Ben
Ben Stevens
Ben Stevens is an American politician and former President of the Alaska State Senate. He is a Republican and the son of former United States Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in United States Senate history.- Career :...
, who was then the president of the state Senate, and a raid on Senator Ted Stevens' personal home. Stevens drew the FBI and Justice Department attention over his home renovation project done in 2000, which more than doubled the size of his home. Bill Allen, founder of VECO Corporation, an oil supplying and engineering company, oversaw the work at Senator Steven's home. Bill Allen has since pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. Alaska lawmakers went as far as embroidering ball caps with the letters CBC, for "Corrupt Bastards Club." The Washington Post describes more into the political scandals with its article entitled "I'll sell my soul to the Devil" from a tape quote from Pete Kott, former Republican speaker of the Alaskan legislature. On October 27, 2008, Stevens was convicted on seven counts of making false statements. His conviction was reversed , six months after he lost the election to the Democrat, because of misconduct by prosecutors.
Political party strength in Alaska
Political party strength in Alaska
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Alaska:*Governor, including pre-statehood governors, who were appointed by the U.S...
has varied over the years.
List of political parties
- Alaska Republican Party
- Alaska Democratic Party
- Alaska Republican Moderate Party
- Alaskan Independence Party
- Alaska Libertarian Party
- Alaska Green Party
Alaska is also the only state in the union to allow legal possession of marijuana within one's home. An adult may legally possess less than four ounces of marijuana in their home. This court ruling (2003) came about because of Alaska's constitution prohibiting one's invasion of their privacy. The Alaska appeals court declared this so despite a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of all amounts of the drug. The court ruled that voters, who approved the criminalization measure, did not have authority to change the state constitution protecting one's privacy. Alaska today continues to be one of the few states in the nation which protects one's privacy under their state constitution. Although Alaska is a progressive (liberal) state with releasing state government information to the public, it is also a restrictive (conservative) state when issues involve one's "privacy" rights guaranteed by its state constitution. An example is with the U.S. Patriot Act, which in part forces governmental entities to release book titles circulated to patrons; however, cities like Anchorage, Alaska have frequently challenged or denied release of such information sought under the Patriot Act claiming it would violate their own state constitution. The city of Anchorage passed resolution No. 2003-7777 in 2010, which bars the use of municipal resources in enforcing the USA Patriot Act in releasing library records.
Alaska possesses a pervasively strong independence movement favoring secession from the US, with the Alaskan Independence Party
Alaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska that advocates an in-state referendum which includes the option of Alaska becoming an independent country...
labeled one of "the most significant state-level third parties operating in the 20th century".
Presidential elections
| Year | Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 59.49% 192,631 | 37.83% 122,485 |
| 2004 | 61.07% 190,889 | 35.52% 111,025 |
| 2000 | 58.62% 167,398 | 27.67% 79,004 |
| 1996 | 50.80% 122,746 | 33.27% 80,380 |
| 1992 | 39.46% 102,000 | 30.29% 78,294 |
| 1988 | 59.59% 119,251 | 36.27% 72,584 |
| 1984 | 66.65% 138,377 | 29.87% 62,007 |
| 1980 | 54.35% 86,112 | 26.41% 41,842 |
| 1976 | 57.90% 71,555 | 35.65% 44,058 |
| 1972 | 58.13% 55,349 | 34.62% 32,967 |
| 1968 | 45.28% 37,600 | 42.65% 35,411 |
| 1964 | 34.09% 22,930 | 65.91% 44,329 |
| 1960 | 50.94% 30,953 | 49.06% 29,809 |
In presidential elections, the state's Electoral College votes have been most often won by a Republican nominee. Only once has Alaska supported a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee, when it supported Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in the landslide year of 1964, although the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
won the state's electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 25 percentage points with 61.1% of the vote.
The communities of Juneau
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
, Sitka, downtown and midtown Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, and "the Bush
Bush Alaska
The Bush is a term Alaskans use to describe portions of their state that are not connected to the North America road network. A majority of Alaska's native populations live in the Bush, where they make their living in similar fashion to their ancestors....
," stand out as Democratic strongholds, while the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
, Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....
, parts of Anchorage, and Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, Ketchikan
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of 7,368 in 2010 within the city limits, it is the fifth most populous city in the state....
, Wrangell
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell is a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 2,308.Its Tlingit name is Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw . The Tlingit people residing in the Wrangell area, who were there centuries before Europeans, call themselves the Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan after the nearby Stikine...
, and Petersburg
Petersburg, Alaska
Petersburg is a city in Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, in the United States. According to 2009 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 2,824 full time residents.- History :...
serve as the Republican Party electoral base.
On August 29, 2008 Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
named Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
as the GOP Vice-Presidential nominee. His campaign
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
was not successful in winning the 2008 presidential election.