2020 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
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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.
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November 3, 2020
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   Young: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Galvin: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >80% Tie: 50% No votes | ||||||||||||||||||||
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This was Don Young's last re-election as he died in office on March 18, 2022. This was also the last time until 2024 that a Republican won Alaska's only congressional U.S. House seat.[1] This 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.[2] Young was the longest-tenured member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having been first elected in a 1973 special election.[3] He served on several committees including as a ranking member of a House Natural Resources subcommittee.[4] In 2019, Young introduced 37 bills, four of which made it out of committee.[4]
Challenging Young was independent candidate Alyse Galvin,[5] a small-business owner, former teacher, and founder of the non-profit Great Alaska Schools.[3] Galvin has never held public office. Her platform focused on addressing climate change, increasing funding for public schools, and lowering health care costs.[3] Galvin ran as an independent and also received the Democratic Party nomination.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
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[5]
- Bill Hibler (Democratic), candidate for Alaska's at-large congressional district in 2016[6]
- Ray Sean Tugatuk (Democratic)[6]
Endorsements
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[15]
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[16] | Lean R | November 2, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[17] | Likely R | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[18] | Lean R | November 2, 2020 |
| Politico[19] | Lean R | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[20] | Lean R | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP[21] | Likely R | November 2, 2020 |
Polling
View source data.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Don Young (R) |
Alyse Galvin (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravis Marketing[22] | October 26–28, 2020 | 770 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 49% | 44% | – | 7% |
| Siena College/NYT Upshot[23] | October 9–14, 2020 | 423 (LV) | ± 5.7% | 49% | 41% | 2%[b] | 9%[c] |
| Alaska Survey Research[24] | September 25 – October 4, 2020 | 696 (LV) | – | 46% | 48% | – | 6% |
| Public Policy Polling (D)[25] | July 7–8, 2020 | 1,081 (V) | ± 3.0% | 41% | 43% | – | 16% |
| Data for Progress (D)[26][A] | May 21–27, 2020 | 589 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 42% | 43% | – | 15% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Don Young (incumbent) | 192,126 | 54.40% | +1.32% | |
| Independent | Alyse Galvin[d] | 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
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - "Someone else" and would not vote with 1%
- Includes "Refused"
- Galvin ran as an independent with the nomination of the Democratic Party.
Partisan clients
- Data for Progress supports Democratic candidates, and Galvin is seeking the Democratic nomination as an independent in AK-at-large.