Alaska is weird. Politically speaking, it's a massive, frozen puzzle that most Outsiders—and even some folks in Anchorage—can't quite solve. You look at alaska past election results and you see a sea of red, but then you look closer and find a Democrat winning a House seat for two years or a bipartisan coalition running the state house. It’s a place where political labels go to die, or at least get very, very confused.
Honestly, the Last Frontier has never played by the rules. We’re talking about a state that was actually more Democratic-leaning when it first joined the Union in 1959. Then things shifted. Hard. But recently? The ground is moving again. Whether it’s the introduction of ranked-choice voting or the fact that over half of the voters here refuse to join a party, the history of how Alaska votes is anything but boring.
The Republican Stronghold That Wasn't Always One
If you check the books on alaska past election results, you'll notice a massive streak. Since 1968, the Republican presidential nominee has carried Alaska every single time. Every. Single. Time.
But it wasn't always a "safe" bet. In 1960, Richard Nixon barely squeaked by John F. Kennedy here, winning by just 1,144 votes. That’s roughly the population of a small fishing village. Then, in 1964, the unthinkable happened: Lyndon B. Johnson won Alaska. He remains the only Democrat to ever do it. He didn't just win; he crushed it with 65.91% of the vote.
After that, the state turned toward the GOP and stayed there. Ronald Reagan set the high-water mark in 1984, winning by a staggering 36.78%. That was the era of the "pipeline boom" and a deep distrust of federal overreach, which fits the Alaskan psyche like a well-worn Carhartt jacket.
The Third-Party Fever Dream
Alaska has a soft spot for the "none of the above" types. In 1992, Ross Perot—the guy with the charts and the "giant sucking sound" warnings—snagged 28.43% of the vote in Alaska. That’s higher than any other third-party share in the state's history. Even in 2016, Gary Johnson took nearly 6%. Alaskans love an underdog, especially if that underdog is telling D.C. to take a hike.
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The 2020 Pivot and the 10-Point Margin
The 2020 election was a bit of a wake-up call for the GOP. Donald Trump won, of course, but his margin over Joe Biden was 10.06%. While 10 points sounds like a lot, it was actually the closest margin in Alaska since 1992.
Biden did something no Democrat had done since LBJ: he won Anchorage.
That shift wasn't a fluke. It was a sign that the "Bush" (rural Alaska) and the urban centers were starting to pull in a different direction than the Mat-Su Valley or the Kenai Peninsula.
The Ranked-Choice Revolution of 2022
If you want to talk about alaska past election results without mentioning Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), you're missing the whole story. In 2020, Alaskans narrowly approved a ballot measure that tossed out traditional party primaries. Instead, we got a "top-four" nonpartisan primary and a ranked-choice general election.
The first big test? The 2022 special election to fill the seat of the legendary Don Young, who had held Alaska’s only House seat since 1973.
The Peltola Upset
Mary Peltola, a former state legislator and the first Alaska Native in Congress, pulled off what many thought was impossible. She ran a "pro-fish, pro-family, pro-choice" campaign that focused on local issues rather than national culture wars.
- Round 1: Peltola led with 39.7%, followed by Sarah Palin at 30.9% and Nick Begich III at 27.8%.
- The Squeeze: Because no one hit 50%, the third-place finisher (Begich) was eliminated.
- The Transfer: His votes were redistributed to whoever those voters ranked second.
Here’s the kicker: a significant chunk of Begich voters either ranked Peltola second or didn't rank a second choice at all. They simply wouldn't vote for Palin. Peltola won the final round with 51.48%. She proved it again in the November 2022 general election, winning a full term with an even bigger margin of 55%.
What Just Happened in 2024?
The 2024 results suggest that while Alaska is willing to experiment, it’s still fundamentally a red-leaning state. Donald Trump improved his performance, taking 54.54% of the vote compared to Kamala Harris's 41.41%.
But the real drama was the House seat rematch. Nick Begich III finally unseated Mary Peltola. It was a nail-biter. Begich ended up with 51.3% after the RCV tallies were finalized, while Peltola finished with 48.7%.
What’s fascinating is that while Trump won comfortably, the House race was incredibly tight. Thousands of people voted for Trump for President and Peltola for House. That kind of split-ticket voting is the "Alaska Special." We don't like being told what to do by party bosses.
The Vote to Keep the System
The 2024 ballot also featured Measure 2, an attempt to repeal ranked-choice voting. It was a bitter, expensive fight. In the end, Alaskans voted "No" by a razor-thin margin (50.1% to 49.9%), choosing to keep the nonpartisan primaries and RCV. People like the power to choose more than one person, even if the math gives them a headache.
Understanding the Alaska Voter Identity
To really grasp alaska past election results, you have to look at the registration numbers. As of late 2025:
- Undeclared/Non-Partisan: ~58%
- Republican: ~24%
- Democrat: ~12%
Basically, most of us aren't "in the club." This explains why our state legislature is often run by bipartisan coalitions. Currently, both the State House and State Senate feature "majority coalitions" where Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans work together, leaving the more ideological wings of both parties in the minority.
Actionable Insights for Following Alaska Politics
If you’re trying to predict where this state goes next, don't just look at the "R" or "D" next to a name. Look at these three things:
- The Resource Divide: Candidates who support the Willow oil project or the Pebble Mine often win points in the Interior and the North Slope, regardless of party.
- The "Bush" Vote: Rural Alaska (the Bush) is a powerful voting bloc. They tend to favor incumbents who deliver on infrastructure and fishing rights. If you lose the Bush, you usually lose the state.
- Ranked-Choice Strategy: In the future, "Rank the Red" or "Rank the Blue" campaigns will be the norm. The 2026 Senate race between Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola is already shaping up to be a masterclass in this.
The best way to stay informed is to watch the Alaska Division of Elections website directly for certified results. Don't trust the early "election night" calls; with our mail-in rules and RCV rounds, it often takes two weeks to know who actually won.
Next time you see a map of the U.S. and Alaska is just a red block in the corner, remember Mary Peltola. Remember Ross Perot. Remember that in Alaska, the "past results" are just a suggestion for a state that prides itself on being unpredictable.