Republican Donald Trump was on track to again win Alaska in the presidential election, though the Associated Press had not called the state by 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Trump had a 15.4-percentage-point lead over Democrat Kamala Harris, with roughly 70% of the state’s votes counted.
Alaska was one of two states, along with Maine, that held a ranked choice election for president. However, the ranked choices of voters for trailing candidates would only be considered if no candidate received more than 50% of the first-preference votes. Trump was on track to exceed that level.
Alaska has voted for the Republican in every election since it became a state, except for Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Along with Trump and Harris, Alaska voters had the choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who remained on the ballot in the state; Libertarian Chase Oliver; American Solidarity Party nominee Peter Sonski; Jill Stein, who’s running as a Green Party nationally but outside of a party ticket in Alaska; Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry; and Aurora Party nominee Cornel West. All of these alternative campaigns’ secured spots on the ballot by gathering at least 3,614 petition signatures.
The nation’s largest state has a small population, and its three Electoral College votes have been seen as safely Republican.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Republican candidates won each election in Alaska by a margin of more than 20 percentage points.
But since George W. Bush won the state by more than 30 points in 2000, Democratic candidates have narrowed the gap as state politics has moved in a more purple direction. The 42.77% share of the vote that President Joe Biden received in 2020 was 10.06% less than Trump’s, but the highest by a Democrat since Johnson.
Trump had a stronger campaign infrastructure in the state than Harris, with Republican former U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka serving as campaign chair. Harris did not build out a significant campaign in the state, instead relying on the state Democratic Party.
Alaska generally does not receive visits from presidential candidates during campaign seasons, and this year was no exception. But Trump recently held a “tele-rally” supporting congressional candidate Nick Begich III. And Trump visited the state for a rally in 2022, offering support to Sarah Palin and other Republican candidates during that year’s elections.
Alaska is among the states whose economy depends the most on federal spending, and federal regulations have a significant impact on the state’s resource extraction industries and the environment. The state’s congressional delegation has been highly critical of environmental protections issued by the administration of President Joe Biden, although they praised the administration’s decision to advance the Willow oil project on the North Slope.
The presidential election has been a subject of controversy in the election for the state’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola declined to endorse either major candidate, expressing doubt whether taking a public position would benefit the state. Republican challenger Nick Begich supported Trump, who endorsed him after Trump’s first pick, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, dropped out after finishing behind Begich in the primary.
More votes cast by Election Day will arrive and be counted in the coming 15 days, with the vast majority counted within 10 days. The Alaska Division of Elections will tabulate the ranked choice voting, if needed, on Nov. 20.