2020 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

The 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

2020 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska's at-large district

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 (special) →

Nominee Don Young Alyse Galvin Party Republican Independent Alliance Democratic Popular vote 192,126 159,856 Percentage 54.40% 45.26%

State House district results Borough and census area results Precinct results Young:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Galvin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >80% Tie:      50%      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Don Young Republican Elected U.S. Representative Don Young Republican

This was Don Young's last re-election as he died in office on March 18, 2022. Until the 2024 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, this was the last time a Republican won Alaska's only congressional U.S. House seat. It was the last Alaska congressional election conducted by plurality voting.

Background

The incumbent in this election was Republican Don Young, who was re-elected with 53.1% of the vote in 2018, in what was one of the closest elections of his long career. Young was the longest-tenured member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having been first elected in a 1973 special election. He served on several committees including as a ranking member of a House Natural Resources subcommittee. In 2019, Young introduced 37 bills, four of which made it out of committee.

Challenging Young was independent candidate Alyse Galvin. Galvin is a small business owner, former teacher, and founder of the non-profit Great Alaska Schools. Galvin has never held public office. Galvin's platform focused on addressing climate change, increasing funding for public schools, and lowering health care costs. Galvin ran as an independent and also received the Democratic Party nomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Gerald L. Heikes
• Thomas "John" Nelson, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2018
• Don Young, incumbent U.S. representative

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Young (incumbent)	51,972	76.13%
	Republican	Thomas "John" Nelson	12,344	18.08%
	Republican	Geral Heikes	3,954	5.79%
Total votes			68,270	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Alyse Galvin (independent), public education advocate and nominee for Alaska's at-large congressional district in 2018
• Bill Hibler (Democratic), candidate for Alaska's at-large congressional district in 2016
• Ray Sean Tugatuk (Democratic)

Endorsements

Alyse Galvin

Organizations

• Alaska Center
• End Citizens United
• J Street PAC
• National Education Association
• National Women's Political Caucus

Results

Democratic–Libertarian–Independence primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Alyse Galvin	53,258	85.83%
	Democratic	Ray Tugatuk	4,858	7.83%
	Democratic	Bill Hibler	3,931	6.34%
Total votes			62,047	100.0%

Independents

Withdrawn

• Thomas Lamb

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Lean R	November 2, 2020
Inside Elections	Likely R	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean R	November 2, 2020
Politico	Lean R	November 2, 2020
Daily Kos	Lean R	November 2, 2020
RCP	Likely R	November 2, 2020

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Don Young (R)	Alyse Galvin (I)	Other	Undecided
	October 26–28, 2020	770 (LV)	± 3.5%	49%	44%	–	7%
Siena College/NYT Upshot	October 9–14, 2020	423 (LV)	± 5.7%	49%	41%	2%	9%
	September 25 – October 4, 2020	696 (LV)	–	46%	48%	–	6%
Public Policy Polling (D)	July 7–8, 2020	1,081 (V)	±  3.0%	41%	43%	–	16%
Data for Progress (D)	May 21–27, 2020	589 (LV)	±  4.0%	42%	43%	–	15%

Results

2020 Alaska's at-large congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Young (incumbent)	192,126	54.40%	+1.32%
	Independent	Alyse Galvin	159,856	45.26%	–1.24%
	Write-in		1,183	0.34%	–0.08%
Total votes			353,165	100.0%
	Republican hold

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Denali Borough (largest town: Healy)
• Lake and Peninsula Borough (largest town: King Salmon)

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (largest town: Craig)

Notes

1. Galvin ran as an independent with the nomination of the Democratic Party.
2. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
3. "Someone else" and would not vote with 1%
4. Includes "Refused"

Partisan clients

1. Data for Progress supports Democratic candidates, and Galvin is seeking the Democratic nomination as an independent in AK-at-large.

References

1. Miller, Maya (November 20, 2024). "Begich Defeats Peltola in Alaska, Flipping House Seat for Republicans". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
2. Wasserman, David; Flinn, Ally (November 7, 2018). "2018 House Popular Vote Tracker". Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
3. Panetta, Madison Hall, Grace. "Alyse Galvin takes on Don Young in Alaska's At-Large Congressional District". Business Insider. Retrieved October 15, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. Wieber, Aubrey (October 10, 2020). "After 47 years in Congress, Don Young has lost his clout, says Alyse Galvin. Is that true?". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
5. Segall, Peter (July 16, 2019). "Alyse Galvin announces bid for Congress". Juneau Empire. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
6. "Alaska Division of Elections". www.elections.alaska.gov. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
7. "John Nelson for Alaskans".
8. Downing, Suzanne (January 26, 2019). "Don Young is 'in' for 2020". Must Read Alaska. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
9. "Alaska Secretary of State's office: Election Summary Report" (PDF).
10. "2019 Endorsed Anchorage Municipal Candidates". The Alaska Center. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
11. Muller, Tiffany (January 21, 2020). "End Citizens United Endorses 39 Candidates 10 Years After Citizens United Decision". End Citizens United.
12. "2020 House Endorsees". JStreetPAC. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
13. "Recommended Candidates". Education Votes. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
14. "Endorsed Candidates". National Women's Political Caucus. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
15. "November 3, 2020 General Election Candidate List". www.elections.alaska.gov. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
16. "2020 House Race Ratings for November 2, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
17. "2020 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
18. "2020 House race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
19. "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. April 5, 2021.
20. "2020 House Race Ratings". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
21. "Battle for House 2020". RCP. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
22. Gravis Marketing
23. Siena College/NYT Upshot
24. Alaska Survey Research
25. Public Policy Polling (D)
26. Data for Progress (D)
27. "2020 GENERAL ELECTION Election Summary Report - Official Results" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Alaska", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Alaska: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Alaska". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Alaska at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Alyse Galvin (I) for Congress
• Don Young (R) for Congress