United States House election in Alaska, 2022 (August 16 top-four primary)

Elections in Alaska, 2022

• Primary date: Aug. 16
• Mail-in registration deadline: July 17
• Online reg. deadline: July 17
• In-person reg. deadline: July 17

• Early voting starts: Aug. 1
• Early voting ends: Aug. 15
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Absentee/mail-in deadline: Aug. 16

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2022 U.S. House elections in Alaska
Primary elections:
Special U.S. House primary (June 11)
Regular U.S. House primary (Aug. 16)
General elections:
Special U.S. House general election (Aug. 16)
Regular U.S. House general election (Nov. 8)
Filing deadlines:
Special election: April 1
Regular election: June 1

A top-four primary took place on August 16, 2022, in Alaska's At-Large Congressional District to determine which four candidates would run in the general election on November 8, 2022. Mary Peltola (D), Sarah Palin (R), Nicholas Begich III (R), and Tara Sweeney (R) were the top four finishers. Sweeney withdrew, meaning fifth-place finisher Chris Bye (L) advanced to the general election.

All candidates appeared on the same ballot with their affiliations listed next to their names. See the sample ballot here. The general election used ranked-choice voting. To learn more about Alaska's voting system, which voters approved via ballot measure in 2020, see below.

Former Rep. Don Young (R) died in March 2022. The regularly scheduled election was one of two elections, alongside a special election, for Alaska's at-large House district in 2022.

Twenty-two candidates were on the regular primary ballot: nine undeclared or nonpartisan candidates, nine Republicans, one Democrat, and three minor party candidates.

Fifteen of the candidates also ran in the special primary election to fill the remainder of Young's term. Peltola won the special election against Palin and Begich.

Chris Bye (L), Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent), Ted Heintz (Independent), Robert Lyons (R), J.R. Myers (L), and Randy Purham (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

Here is a timeline for each primary and general election in 2022:

June 11, 2022:

• Special primary election

Aug. 16, 2022:

• Special general election
• Regular primary election

Nov. 8, 2022:

• Regular general election

Election news

This section includes a timeline of events leading up to the election.

• Election news (July-August 2022)
  • August 26, 2022: Updated vote totals showed Mary Peltola (D) led with 37% of the vote, followed by Sarah Palin (R) with 30%, Nicholas Begich III (R) with 26%, and Tara Sweeney (R) with 4%.

  • August 23, 2022:
    • Sweeney announced she had filed paperwork to withdraw from the race.
    • With 99% of results reported, Mary Peltola (D) led with 36% of the vote, followed by Sarah Palin (R) with 31%, Nicholas Begich III (R) with 27%, and Tara Sweeney (R) with 4%.

  • August 17, 2022: With 69% of results reported, Mary Peltola (D) led with 35% of the vote, followed by Sarah Palin (R) with 31%, Nicholas Begich III (R) with 27%, and Tara Sweeney (R) with 4%.

  • August 7, 2022: The Anchorage Daily News published Q&A responses from several candidates.

  • August 4, 2022: Campaign finance reports current through July 27 showed four candidates had raised more than $100,000: Begich had raised $1.3 million (including a $650,000 loan he made to his campaign), Palin $1.1 million, Peltola $379,000, and Sweeney $295,000.

  • July 15, 2022: Campaign finance reports current through June 30 showed four candidates had raised more than $100,000: Begich had raised $1.3 million (including a $650,000 loan he made to his campaign), Palin $836,000, Sweeney $277,000, and Peltola $243,000.

Candidates and election results

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Peltola (D)	36.8	70,295
✔		Sarah Palin (R)	30.2	57,693
✔		Nicholas Begich (R)	26.2	50,021
✔		Tara Sweeney (R)	3.8	7,195
		Chris Bye (L)	0.6	1,189
		J.R. Myers (L)	0.3	531
		Robert Lyons (R)	0.2	447
	Submit photo	Jay Armstrong (R)	0.2	403
	Submit photo	Brad Snowden (R)	0.2	355
		Randy Purham (R)	0.2	311
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)	0.1	270
	Submit photo	Sherry Strizak (Independent)	0.1	252
		Robert Ornelas (American Independent Party)	0.1	248
	Submit photo	Denise Williams (R)	0.1	242
		Gregg Brelsford (Independent)	0.1	241
	Submit photo	David Hughes (Independent)	0.1	238
	Submit photo	Andrew Phelps (Independent)	0.1	222
	Submit photo	Tremayne Wilson (Independent)	0.1	194
	Submit photo	Sherry Mettler (Independent)	0.1	191
	Submit photo	Silvio Pellegrini (Independent)	0.1	187
	Submit photo	Ted Heintz (Independent)	0.1	173
	Submit photo	Davis LeBlanc Jr. (R)	0.1	117

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 191,015
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tyler Cropley (Independent)
• Julio Perez (R)
• Don Young (R)
• Shannon Evans (R)
• Christopher Constant (D)
• Al Gross (Independent)
• Adam Wool (D)
• Mike Milligan (D)
• Mikel Melander (R)
• William Hibler (Independent)
• Jeff Lowenfels (Independent)
• John B. Coghill (R)
• Josh Revak (R)

Sample ballot

The following sample ballot is from the Alaska Division of Elections.

Candidate comparison

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Chris Bye (L)

Nobody cares more for Alaska than Alaskans. Every two to four years Congressional and Presidential turmoil bent on activism rather than governance has a direct and detrimental effect here in Alaska where natural resource development is our foundational economic driver. Natural resource development sustains our education system, our medical system, some of our roads, and other pieces of our infrastructure. Clearly, there is a balance but the draconian one size fits all regulations often driven by activists, rather than the local citizenry, are oppressive and smothering our state’s potential. DC politicians driven by power and re-election desires fail to meet the needs of Alaskans statewide. Alaskans with help from the University Syste

There are 36m acres owed to the people of Alaska still retained by the Federal Government. That land, the size of West Virginia and South Carolina combined represents opportunity for recent professionals graduating from the Alaska University System, in fact for all Alaskans and separating military service members. We have been a state since 1959 and yet we are still waiting on the turnover. Together with my first concern, Alaska can work on becoming self-sufficient with a sustainable natural resource development that is beholden to Alaskans. It will be my top goal to complete this 63-year promise. It’s Time Alaska.

Fishery management has succumbed to the lust of the commercial industry at the expense of ALL ALASKANS. Salmon is a statewide issue and what happens in the oceans has upriver effects. The North Pacific Fishing Management Council develops regulations for the waters surrounding Alaska has failed Alaskans. Their regulations notoriously favor the commercial industry which has seats on the board. Washington and Oregon even have seats on this board. However communities such as Bethel, Galena, Fort Yukon, or Chitna are not represented at all, where the subsistence harvest for Salmon is extremely important to our way of life. We must get representation on the council making it repsonsive to our needs not the industry.

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Homelessness: How precisely are the State and municipalities supposed to solve homelessness, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a U.S. government agency "dedicated to making sure homeowners are treated fairly" by banks and mortgage service providers, are absent-mindedly providing no real help to homeowners who file complaints with the CFPB. Foreclosures by banks with unethical lending business practices provide a never ending stream of families (men, women, children) who end up homeless. This is completely unacceptable.

Trafficking: The most vulnerable in our State and nation are often targeted for trafficking, therefore, I shall focus on the trafficking of children first. According to The National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI), over 60% of trafficked children have been involved in the Foster industry. That means over half of the children that have been or are still in foster housing are trafficked. This is completely unacceptable.

Veterans: The VA's reputation is dismal in America and veterans are marginalized, ignored, dismissed by VA employees who are going through the motions of 'aiding' veterans, but in reality, just collecting their paychecks. It appears the VA is under the 80/20 rule, where 80% of the workload is shouldered by 20% of VA staff who does actually care. Likewise, the other 80% of VA staff are coordinating the paperwork shuffle or handing veterans off to the State of Alaska (SOA), Adult Protective Service (APS). This is completely unacceptable.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Stop inflation, stop the socialist spending spree, improve domestic production of strategic resources, not just oil/gas.

Impeach Biden, he is taking food off our plates and his incompetence could get us into WWIII

Eductional reform is an emergency situation! We MUST restore parental rights. School choice!

Robert Lyons (R)

UNITE and UNTIE Washington DC control from Alaskan's FUTURE, Individuals over Entities! Alaskan control of resource decisions- we have to gain state independence from DC interests, no free people can be controlled from 3500 miles away. We Alaskans have a fundamental right to self-determination. The federal grip has led us into a stall. We must transfer power to the state.

Veterans' travel/health protections- our brave warriors often get forgotten. They must come FIRST! Alaska's unique position detached as a state deserves special attention regarding Veterans and access to services!

Homelessness and drug proliferation must be addressed utilizing different modalities and by coalescing agencies, demanding accountability and productivity requirements in funding. Our efforts must be combined and targeted for effect, we as a state must get on the same page.

J.R. Myers (L)

Life, I believe in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. I oppose abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, capital punishment, police killings and war.

Liberty, I believe in the right of the individual to live as they choose, according to their own conscience, so long as they do not violate the rights of others in the exercise of their choices.

The Pursuit of Happiness, I believe in the right to acquire, possess and utilize private property according to one's own ideals, free from government overreach.

Randy Purham (R)

I have a strong passion in helping people and as a humble servant, one of my passions has been to serve in government for the people and do the work that needs to get done to carry our nation forward. That is why I believe "Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM)" and "Working Together To Be Better." are key foundational principles to help achieve many great things.

As I have traveled around the world and lived in many places; I have always carried an ambition to serve in our nations capitol. People have asked me over the years, why Alaska? In 2013, after a year of living there, the choice was simple. I fell in love with the state, the people, and I have some of the greatest times in my life serving there. I kept my residency and affiliation with Alaska because that is where my heart is and where I want to be.

I understand that serving in public life comes with sacrifices, trust, and commitment. My nearly three decades of public service in the military and in the civilian sector congruently is indicative of that. I want to continue to be able to bring valuable tools and skillsets to any table I sit at and advance the causes and advocate for those who need help in getting their voices heard. I am the person that Alaskans can look to as the person the people can proudly call their Representative, their Friend, and a defender of "The Last Frontier ".

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Chris Bye (L)

1) When we resound to voting for the establishment party picks, hold our noses and choose the lesser of two evils we get the disaster we call DC. Corporate bailouts, Military boondoggles, $30.5T of debt, secret courts… Both parties got us here with help from us, weak-minded voters who refused to see the historical facts. I am as guilty as the next on this.

We often see the slogan Home of the Free because of the Brave. We attribute this to Military Service Members and First Responders. I would ask that you rethink this. We are free because voters bravely vote. I do not care how you voted in the past; I care about your future vote. That vote represents freedom and future opportunity. Please vote. It’s Time Alaska. 2) Energy Policy. We have been given a false premise that America cannot have a diverse Energy Policy; it’s either Big Oil/Fossil Fuels or renewables. The truth is that we need both plus nuclear, hydrogen, and any other energy source. Diversity is the key to a sustainable and strong energy policy. Deregulation allows for increased development. Allow Alaskans to determine the pathway forward. Together with professionals being created at our trade schools, union facilities, and Universities we can bring sustainability and efficient methods of energy development to the market. It’s Time Alaska.

3) Balanced Budget. Congress will continue to enslave current and future generations without concern, that $30.5T of debt was created by both parties.

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

I am personally passionate about energy and environment policy. Based on my observations regarding energy sufficiency, we appear to be in a type of energy crisis in our search for clean energy. By this, I mean we appear to be unable to mitigate our energy industry effectively, while also being conscious of the environmental impacts we as consumers create. On one hand, the pressure is to maintain the status quo so that it does not impact jobs and profit. On the other hand, the pressure is to find clean ways to maintain our energy consumption without destroying the environment, while creating jobs. With the ingenuity of human innovations, it does not seem reasonable that we have not collectively come up with a viable source of clean energy, harnessing either the sun, wind, water, and/or earth power responsibly. Pollutants in our environment from irresponsible energy corporations eventually end up in our food chain. Factoring in the 'domino effect', those pollutants eventually are ingested by our families that, over time, impact our health. This is completely unacceptable. I will target and support innovating clean energy technology (that has been 'shelved' in lieu of traditional profits), undeveloped patented technology, and entrepreneurship of small energy research companies. I will target large corporations that knowingly put toxins, poisons, and carcinogenic materials into our environment.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Reducing corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse. When someone is mugged on the street they got robbed, when their is waste and corruption we ALL get robbed!

Parental rights and education reform.

Self defense rights as per the 2nd Amendment which is not about hunting but ensuring freedom from tyranny.

Drug war and justice system reform. I support the Federal legalization and regulation/taxation of Marijuana. What we are doing now is a proven failure. What we try next may also fail but what we must not do is continue to stupidly and blindly continue following something after its failure becomes obvious!

Enforce individual rights protecting against Government abuse and intrusion. For example the so called "Patriot Act" is not very Patriotic! I am FAR more worried about Government abuse than crime or terrorism. Crime or terrorism affects someone somewhere sometime. Government abuse effects everyone everywhere all the time!

Robert Lyons (R)

I want to represent All Alaskans, with hard work, truth, transparency, dedication and determination. I vow a term limit, so I won't go to DC to be a part of THEIR club, or to represent the status quo, the powers that exist. I will go to represent YOU. I am adamantly pro liberty! We are known for rugged individualism here in Alaska! We are known for action here in Alaska! This great state put into law the first civil rights act in the nation, the Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945. Since that moment Alaskans have held on to the belief that all the people in this state have a responsibility to each other, in our environment this is self-evident!

    I believe a new age for Alaska has come. Where we as free people can take the reins of government back from interests living far away and being ignorant of our daily lives and struggles. Begin again to break through the barriers of opinion and hold to the truths of humanity.

Don Young has been in Washington for 50 years, it is time to move on, it is necessary. Our future does not have to be going nowhere, we can build a bridge across our state, and get moving! A bridge to tomorrow!!

J.R. Myers (L)

Election integrity and reform. We need to safeguard the entire process from voter registration to vote counting, and everything in between like ballot chain of custody, use of citizen poll watchers. We need to eliminate cynical roadblocks erected by the establishment parties to prevent electoral competition. We need a truly free, fair and equal system of ballot access open for all parties and independents. We need to stop subsidizing political parties through publically financed primary elections. We need better public oversight of voter registration, ballot counting, and chain of ballot custody, We need balanced media coverage and debate inclusion for all candidates appearing on the ballot. We need real campaign finance reform and term limits.

Randy Purham (R)

When I took the oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States both foreign and domestic, I didn't say it to qualify to receive a paycheck. I said it because I have the best interest of the American people in heart and mind and in keeping with the visions of not only the nation's founding fathers, but my own ancestors in that; advancing the causes and interests that will put Americans first, Alaskans first, and those without a voice first. My biggest areas of public policy resides in the domain of: Education, Social stability, Economic growth, Domestic security, and Foreign relations/security/affairs. Bringing civility, bipartisanship, and prudence back to the chambers of Congress is another main goal of mine. Congruently stomping out extremist ideologies that tear down the fabrics of civil discourse, discussion, and debate to in order to gain common ground to achieve the American greater good.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Chris Bye (L)

This list is long. Let's take the top four.

1) There is a long list of Warriors I have had the pleasure of serving with. Some were higher ranking and some lower Enlisted. They all had one thing in common: to serve each other regardless of the hardships and trials. While I hated being a pawn for the Republicans and Democrats, my time served at home station and deployed really pushed my desire to serve everyone.

2) My Mexican-Texan Grandfather, Theodoro Fierros. This Korean War Combat Veteran decorated twice for valor laid down the pathway that discrimination is not an excuse for not doing one's duty honorably. Grandpa rarely talked about Korea but occasionally while fishing he would tell me stories of brave Korean teenagers as young as 12 hauling ammunition and fighting alongside him and his fellow Soldiers. Being one of few non-white Soldiers, Grandpa put up with crap only to show those weak-minded individuals he would surpass their expectations continuously. Whether as an Army Boxer or an Air Force NCO training future Officers or as a mentor at Church, Grandpa served his community until the day he passed away. I'll never forget his accented voice, "Mi hijo, dos cervazas por favor".

3) Ron Paul. His book "Liberty Defined" changed the way I look at political parties. I encourage everyone to read this book. Add in Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell, two diverse thinkers who came to the same conclusion that decisions made by a centralized government power will always turn out poorly for almost everyone. Local Control/Local Accountability

4) There was a man who lived many centuries ago and told us to love everyone. Everyone- not just the ones we agree with or the ones we liked. Love everyone including our enemies and those that hate us. He did not promise it would be easy nor always fruitful but that it was necessary. It wasn't an edict for the government but for each one of us. It wasn't a mandate, it was careful mentorship.

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

I look up to and follow the Most High God. Since I was not born into a specific family religion, I enjoy exercising my American religious freedom by examining the avenues of available faiths; from Judaism, Islam, Christianity, to Shamanism, Buddhism, Scientology, and more. I have witnessed for myself the religious traditions that are passed down from grandparent to parent to child. It is written in many religious scriptures that it is the Divine Spirit that brings an individual to the love, knowledge, faith, and guidance of the Supreme Being or Divine God. For my personal path in life, with the assistance of the Divine Spirit, I have made a final decision on who it is I call my God. It is the Most High God, my Father in Heaven, to whom I place my worship and faith in. For me, the Most High God is the One who is at a level like none other. I believe that only the Most High God is the Keeper of Time and Hearts. Religious freedom in America means that each citizen has the right to choose who they place, or do not place, their faith in. I believe this right should not be infringed upon. No one selects the Time of their birth, nor do they select the Time of their death, as these are universal mysteries. It is only when we exhale our last breath, do we all find out if our choice religion, revealed by our conduct and words, will withstand eternity. There was a time in my life many years ago that reaching out to the Most High God was last on my list. Currently, after so many decades of training, guiding and correction, I am finally at that point in my Path that the Most High God is first on my list. One of the lessons that made a huge impression on me was when the Most High God brought me to Matthew 7: 22 & 23. Then, I had understanding of what I was witnessing around me in America. It was the lessons of Jonah, Sodom, and Gomorrah that taught me how to Respectfully Petition the Divine Court of the Most High God to render Judgement and I agree with that judgement. So Be It.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

President Reagan. He had good character, a good sense of humor, and really cared about America, her Constitution, and her people. That matters, a lot!

Randy Purham (R)

I take a chapter out of Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich". I have an "Invisible Cabinet" and a few of the figures I most largely personally revere are Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, my Father, Grandfather (Maternal), and my 2nd cousin Earnest. I learned a lot from all of these men throughout my life. From not being a victim because something unfavorably happened through being a man and taking responsibility for your decisions, actions, and consequences. I really can't elaborate or put it any different than that. You study the first two mentioned, the rest falls in place.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

I am a grandmother, a mother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a healer, an empath, a warrior, and a friend. My Calling is to Permeate Light into the Darkness, by which ever means avail itself to me. I am transformation manifested. I am who I am. Furthermore, I am not obligated, and ​I live as I am drawn ​by the Divine Light of the Most High God. You Will Know Me By The Fruit I Bare & the Kindness I Share. My Conscience is clear. If conflict does not come to me, I will not seek out conflict. However, if conflict comes to me, I will not be afraid either. Managing Life is all about finding appropriate ways to eliminate conflicts that come one's way. If you're always worried or frightened, there is no Joy in Living.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

US Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, The New Testament, Aristotle, Plato, and others.

Randy Purham (R)

Of recent collection in the last couple of years.

"72: Unbought and Unbossed" (Amazon Prime Movie) "Drain the Swamp: Why Washington is More Corrupt Than You Think" - Ken Buck "Leaders Eat Last" - Simon Sinek "The Seven Mountain Prophecy" - Johnny Enlow

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Empathy, Responsibility, Accountability, and Tenacity.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Respect for the rights of ultimate majority, the individual, without which society can not exist. I always prioritize individual rights over the questionable idea of rights of society because society can not exist without individuals!

Randy Purham (R)

Prudent. Pragmatic. Understanding. Curt. Concise. Straight to the point. Not self-serving.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

I call it like I see it and will pursue justice till the very end, regardless of the status quo. Some opponents will throw accusations, saying I have an 'axe to grind'. Not true. For Alaskan families and for Justice, I am 'sharpening my sword'.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Genuine passion for freedom and individual rights and civil liberties. Genuine belief in equality of opportunity and an equal disdain for the socialist false promise of equality of outcome. I have experienced socialism and communism and I am strongly opposed!

My first love was an escapee from communist China that I met on a school trip there. I myself could have ended up in prison when I was on high school trip over there. There was an Asian girl on our school trip who had been brought to the US illegally as a child and was traveling on never before tested (she was a high school student and a minor, so) false documents. When the Chinese government discovered this we were accused of smuggling out political dissidents. I HATE COMMUNISM AND SOCIALISM. That stuff will never fly here as long as I have any say about it.

Later my friends and students (I used to be on the path of a teacher) included immigrants and refugees from communism (I know it is supposed to be capitalized, I choose not to). This can never be allowed here.

Robert Lyons (R)

Honest, transparent and hardworking. DETERMINED.

Randy Purham (R)

In short. Prudent and pragmatic leadership. No nonsense.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Core Responsibility is to the People. Elected officials should stand their ground and be there, actively working for the people of their state and nation.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Follow the Constitution and then within that limit, follow the will of your constituents. That's it! That's the job! That's the whole thing. It really is that simple!

Robert Lyons (R)

Be transparent with the public. Communicate with your constituency and DO what you SAY you are doing.

Stand firm for the constitution and the rule of law. LOVE YOUR NATION, YOUR STATE, the PEOPLE you want to represent. Use discernment in your decision making. BE HONEST as oyu do the People's Business.

Be willing to go home and leave it after your service is done.

Randy Purham (R)

Serve the people that elected them. Finding the common ground and understanding to effectively legislate on behalf of the interest of their constituents.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Ted Heintz (Independent)

I would like government to be more responsive and more actually representative. I would like to see more accountability and less waste. Most importantly I would like to see our Republic repaired and restored so we can continue to safeguard our individual rights and freedoms for which I and many others past and present have pledged our very lives. I don;t even care about being a super power. We are not free because we are a super power. We are a superpower because we are the most free!

Robert Lyons (R)

I would want to leave office with DC having less power over Alaskan's lives than when I went in.

Randy Purham (R)

To be be the stepping stone to the idea that you can do a bit of work for a bit of time and pass it on to the next person to complete some more and they too pass it on.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Chris Bye (L)

John Lennon was shot in NYC on Dec 8 1980 shot by Mark Chapman. I was 6 years old. I recall the radio station and the TV stations playing Imagine, Revolution, Dear Prudence, and a litany of other John Lennon and Beatles recordings.

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

There are so many worldly religions out there, they promote 'their way' to God and faith. As an American, I was not raised in a specific religion or faith, and it appeared to me that there was conflict among the many religions. During my early twenties, I found myself in a situation and felt that only 'God' could help me. However, I was not sure who to pray to and which 'God' was the right one. So I prayed to the 'God of Truth'. I acknowledged that I did not know who God was, and asked for guidance in my life. After I prayed, the 'Hand of the Most High God' appeared and comforted me in a way that surpasses logical understanding. This historic moment started me on my journey toward seeking, learning, and understanding the Most High God.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

President Reagan's election and then the USSR breakup and fall of the Berlin wall.4 and 13. I remember voting for Reagan in a mock election in Elementary school.

Robert Lyons (R)

I remember being in class, we had the TV in the front, In January 1986, I believe, the space shuttle Challenger disaster left a huge imprint on my mind. It changed the direction of the space program and how Americans viewed it, how it was discussed to us children, I was nine at the time, and it was catastrophic to witness how despaired our populace became concerning space. We need more exploration! More study, more, more, more!!!

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Chris Bye (L)

Worked at a pizza joint at night and life-guarded during the day. Worked both for over a year before moving on to other jobs.

The waitresses, cooks, and pizzeria owner taught me a tremendous amount about treating everyone with dignity and respect. More importantly, they instilled a workplace team environment that I carried into my 20-year military career.

Life-guarding was my first step in helping folks where they were; whether it was teaching folks how to swim, dealing with fights, or dealing with local thugs. So while at night I had workplace teamwork drilled into me during the day I watched over 50 plus kids and parents at a local pool.

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

My very first job was working for the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, on a summer teen job camp program when I was 15. With other teenagers around Alaska, we stayed at Twin Bears Camp for the summer, and during the work week, traveled around Alaska building trails, planting trees, cleaning up camp sites and more.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Anchorage School District, 3.5 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. There is a very powerful message to humanity both in the words themselves and what one can gleam reading between the lines of this book.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

1984 and Animal farm. Why? VBecause they are no longer fiction! They were supposed to be a warning not a how to manual! Generally, I don't really dig fiction too much except for sci-fi which is of course, obviously, the best type of fiction. Especially because it has the possibility to one day come at least partially true (dystopian as noted above being, sadly, an exception).

Randy Purham (R)

"Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through The Lives of the First Black Congressmen" by Philip Dray. My favorite because it gives esquite detail to the triumphs and tribulations of the first black men elected to Congress in which many of them were also newly freed from slavery. It also details stories surrounding the Reconstruction Era, which I thoroughly enjoy learning about.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Myself as the Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho

Ted Heintz (Independent)

An honest elected representative that actually cares and follows the Constitution. Hey, you said ANY FICTIONAL character! Other than that probably some sort of cross between CPT Piccard (he needs to lighten up though!) and Obi-Wan.

Randy Purham (R)

Superman.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Our God

Is an awesome God, he reigns From heaven above With wisdom, power, and love

Our God is an awesome

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Nothing recent. I like a lot of classic rock and metal. I especially enjoy Iron Maiden due to their use of historical and mythological references. For example, sun and steel is clearly about Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi wrote the Boook of Five Rings which is a tactical guide in the same sense that Sun Tzu's Art of War is a strategic guide.

Randy Purham (R)

"Bluey" cartoon my grandson loves....

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Surviving abuse, overcoming poverty (only to have Biden thrust it upon me again, seriously that guy has to go!), losing friends to drugs (I miss my bro!). Always trying to learn and grow and heal from past traumas and make a better future for myself and others.

Robert Lyons (R)

I struggled with drinking in my early years, I no longer partake at all, but I over drank in my twenties. I lived in an off-road system rural community where alcohol was binge and bust and overdrinking was normalized, even celebrated. I witness so much heartache and pain, death. I went back to school to help people who are addicts, to help people struggling with society's ills and mental health. Made it my life, it is one real reason I seek a term in congress.

Randy Purham (R)

Not trying to do everything by myself.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

The U.S. House of Representatives possess the unique quality to initiate bills for raising revenue and to impeach officials.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

It's not unique in the sense that it is a government body that is supposed to represent the interest of the citizens. If you mean other things like the fact that impeachments start in the house, that revenue or tax bills have to start in the house, and that many of the oversight committees are in the house then yes it has some unique features.

Randy Purham (R)

The ability to find common ground and understanding between various perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Having the ability to infuse that into a common ground that everyone can be happy with is a challenge for any leader in any size organization. To even try it, takes a special kind of leader.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

No. As an American citizen, I used to think that it was beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics. I no longer believe that, as it appears that these experienced government officials and politicians are tone-deaf to the plight of the American citizens who are struggling daily in this country. It appears that the representatives feel so entitled to their elected positions and subsequent wealth, that they are completely ignoring the state of our nation, which is in clear distress. I used to believe our elected officials knew what they are doing. Like many Americans, I gave these experienced elected officials, via my votes, the benefit of the doubt, hoping they will do what needs to be done to set our nation on a clear, healthy, and beneficial course for our people, regardless of race, religion, education, gender, and more. Since these experienced officials have become a government clique answering only to themselves, I have decided to enter the political fray, to see what can be done to course correct our current direction, so that our people truly have the opportunity for life, liberty, health, and the pursuit of happiness.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

NOPE! Clearly not!

Robert Lyons (R)

Absolutely NOT, I believe the original intent of the founders was for representatives to "serve" a term or two and go back home to their communities. This idea of "experience" in government segregates the novel and the intuitive, the innovative from the public politic. "Experience" is the propaganda used to reinforce careerism and to defend bureaucratic largess and cover corruption.

Randy Purham (R)

No. Not at all. They should have experience in life and understanding the value of learning from yourself and others in the process of growing and shaping yourself into who you are destined to become.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

The United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade will be to clean up government corruption, address the plight of the people who are clearly struggling due to government negligence, and establish trust internationally with foreign governments.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Surviving and repairing/rebuilding from the economic and national defense debacles of Biden's corruption, criminality, and willful destruction of America and our society. Yes, seriously, the damage will take quite a while to recover from.

Randy Purham (R)

Bridging the gap of social differences that have been perpetuated by false narratives of social media and mainstream media painting pictures of these societal issues that much smaller than what they actually are.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Agriculture; Appropriations; Armed Services; Budget; Energy; Ethics; Financial Services; Foreign Affairs; Homeland Security; Permanent Committee on Intelligence; Committee on the Climate Crisis; Committee on the Modernization of Congress; Judiciary; Natural Resources; Oversight and Government Reform; Rules;Veterans’ Affairs; Transportation and Infrastructure; Joint Committee on Taxation, and Ways and Means.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

My extensive global travel and studies as well as my military experience make me interested in serving on the foreign affairs and intelligence committees.

Robert Lyons (R)

House Ethics

Veteran's Affairs Natural resources Energy Commerce/Labor

Any investigative committee looking into the vaccine push, mandates, Nancy Pelosi, Dr. Fauci or Joe Biden.

Including investigating the FBIs role on January 6 and the incompetence of the congressional leadership and party leadership including GOP members.

Randy Purham (R)

Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, and Oversight.

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

Ted Heintz (Independent)

N/A

Randy Purham (R)

N/A

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Yes

Ted Heintz (Independent)

No. But it doesn't matter what I think. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. If we want to change it there is a process for that. Other attempts are not legal. For example, the Second Amendment clearly states "shall not be infringed". Virtually all, if not actually all, gun control laws are illegal under the Constitution. If you want to change that you need to make an Amendment. Otherwise, it's illegal! Due process matters! Correct procedure matters!

Randy Purham (R)

No. I am a supporter and advocate for term limits. With the current political structure in our government, an effective Representative needs a solid 3 terms (6-yrs) - however you want to slice it up - to effectively achieve anything worthwhile to pass on to the next successor.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Ted Heintz (Independent)

On the one hand I strongly support them. On the other hand we already have term limits, they're called elections! Sadly the election process, especially regarding campaign finance is horribly corrupt and complex. Term limits would prevent us from keeping the rare decent person. But overall in the risk reward ratio analysis given the situation as it is now, they could be very helpful.

Robert Lyons (R)

I have a self-imposed term limit of 2 terms, I am considering myself a safety stopgap, Alaska's Don Young has been under the influence of DC special interest for 50 years, and there is no doubt they have surrounded him with selected candidates of their choosing. I want the PEOPLE of Alaska to gain representation, as is their constitutional right. I would vote and support a term limit bill of 3, 2-year terms max. I have signed a pledge with the US Term Limits Foundation.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Ted Heintz (Independent)

NOPE! I'm going to change it up and rock the boat. We need some reforms and improvements. Reign in government and remind them we do not work for them! They work for US.

Randy Purham (R)

I have admired the history behind Robert Smalls and Robert B. Elliot. More recent times, no.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

There are too many to select just one story from Alaska residents. I aim to mitigate and address homelessness as it is tied to non-judicial foreclosures; veterans who are not being taken care of by the VA; the trafficked children who are abused due to the foster industry; and the impact on our environment due to our energy issues.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

So many stories about inflation, the economy, jobs, Biden's war on oil and gas! People who went from doing alright or at least getting by to not being able to make rent because of Biden's socialist spending spree and war on American industry and jobs. That guy has to GO!

Randy Purham (R)

While serving in the military and as a member of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as an Ambassador, and the Junior Vice Commander of the local VFW there, I had the distinct pleasure of talking and meeting with people from all walks of life there; publicly and privately. The stories that stuck to me and struck me most was that of the Native Veterans and those in the minority communities. Collectively, they have a common theme among them and that is that they are often treated or looked upon as though they do not belong. Alaska is unique in a sense that although people are somewhat separated and segregated, there is a sense of unity. But there are those in even more unique communities that feel left out for various reasons. I would like to try to affect change in that domain.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

BIDEN

Robert Lyons (R)

Today's fave: What do you call a magic owl? Hoodini!

I go through em like wildfire.

Randy Purham (R)

Knock, knock.... LOL.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

Compromise is necessary to a point. Unfortunately, it appears that the USA has compromised so much that our nation is clearly in a vulnerable state, and therefore, is in a weakened state open to misuse by citizens and attack by foreign governments focused on subduing America.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

Sometimes on some things, yes, on core Constitutional issues, NO!

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)

I think an audit is in order prior to raising new bills for revenue.

Ted Heintz (Independent)

I'm interested keeping taxes low but we do need to look into new revenue solutions (in large part to pay down the horrible debt Biden and the socialist have caused) such as eliminating the income tax on wages to be replaced by other revenue sources such as a marijuana tax. I would also like to discuss or consider some from of sales tax (remember in the context of NO income tax). Criminals don't pay taxes but they still buy stuff. It would be harder to cheat, it would be less of an administrative mess,etc.

Randy Purham (R)

I am a constitutional conservative. I will support bills and legislative efforts for the common good of the people and not for just frivolous spending. Reducing deficits and cutting taxes is highly important to me.

Questionnaires

• Alaska Public Media published a "Just Answers" series featuring Q&A with candidates. Click here to access the articles.

• The Anchorage Daily News published Q&A responses from several candidates. Click here to read responses.

Campaign websites

The following candidates had active campaign websites as of July 8, 2022. If you know of a campaign website we're missing, please email us.

• Armstrong
• Begich
• Brelsford
• Bye
• Dutchess
• Lyons
• Mettler
• Myers
• Palin
• Peltola
• Purham
• Strizak
• Sweeney

News and conflicts in this primary

This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 U.S. House primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

• Heart of the Primaries 2022, Democrats-Issue 37 (September 1, 2022)
• Heart of the Primaries 2022, Republicans-Issue 35 (August 18, 2022)
• Heart of the Primaries 2022, Republicans-Issue 30 (July 7, 2022)

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

• Begich
• Palin

Note: We included endorsements issued in the concurrent special U.S. House election below. Please email us if you know of a change we should make.

Nick Begich III

• State Sen. Majority Leader Shelley Hughes (R)
• State Sen. Mia Costello
• State Sen. Mike Shower (R)
• State Sen. Roger Holland (R)
• State House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton (R)
• State Rep. Mike Cronk (R)
• State Rep. Ken McCarty (R)
• State Rep. Kevin McCabe (R)
• State Rep. Thomas McKay (R)
• State Rep. Sarah Vance (R)
• State Rep. Ben Carpenter (R)
• State Rep. Glenn Prax (R)
• State Rep. Ron Gillham (R)
• State Rep. George Rauscher (R)
• U.S. House special primary candidate John B. Coghill (R)
• Alaska Republican Party
• Associated Builders and Contractors, Alaska Chapter
• Alaska Outdoor Council
• Anchorage Young Republicans
• Eagle River District 22 Republicans
• Fairbanks District 35 Republicans
• FreedomWorks for America
• Homer District 6 Republicans
• Interior District 36 Republicans
• Kenai Peninsula Republican Women of Alaska
• Mat-Su Young Republicans
• North Pole District 33 Republicans
• Republican Women of Fairbanks
• Valdez and Mat-Su District 29 Republicans
• HOTL PAC
• Mat-Su Republican Women's Club
• Mat-Su District 25 Republicans
• Business-Industry Political Action Committee
• Americans for Prosperity Action

Sarah Palin

• U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
• U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
• U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas)
• Former U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)
• Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
• Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R)
• Former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry (R)
• Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R)
• Former President Donald Trump (R)
• Talk show host Sean Hannity
• National Rifle Association
• Bikers for Trump
• Elevate PAC
• National Right to Life Committee

Mary Peltola

• Former 2022 U.S. House candidate Al Gross (I) - Gross also endorsed Tara Sweeney
• U.S. House special primary candidate Santa Claus (I)
• U.S. House special primary candidate Christopher Constant (D)
• U.S. House special primary candidate Mike Milligan (D)
• U.S. House special primary candidate Emil Notti (D)
• 2018 and 2020 U.S. House candidate Alyse Galvin (D/I)
• Alaska AFL-CIO
• Democratic Party of Alaska
• Sealaska
• The Organized Village of Kwethluk
• The Orutsararmiut Native Council
• The Alaska Center

Tara Sweeney

• Former 2022 U.S. House candidate Al Gross (I) - Gross also endorsed Mary Peltola
• ANCSA (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) Regional Association
• VIEW PAC

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Alaska's At-large Congressional District election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Toss-up
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Toss-up
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election. It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees. Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Mary Peltola	Democratic Party	$7,751,293	$7,060,033	$691,260	As of December 31, 2022
Jay Armstrong	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Nicholas Begich	Republican Party	$1,640,060	$1,598,826	$41,234	As of December 31, 2022
Davis LeBlanc Jr.	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Robert Lyons	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Sarah Palin	Republican Party	$1,971,161	$1,924,781	$46,380	As of December 31, 2022
Randy Purham	Republican Party	$1,549	$5,622	$0	As of July 27, 2022
Brad Snowden	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Tara Sweeney	Republican Party	$332,195	$332,195	$0	As of November 8, 2022
Denise Williams	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Robert Ornelas	American Independent Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Chris Bye	Libertarian Party	$8,019	$3,940	$4,218	As of December 8, 2022
J.R. Myers	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Gregg Brelsford	Independent	$43,827	$43,376	$450	As of November 28, 2022
Lady Donna Dutchess	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Ted Heintz	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
David Hughes	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Sherry Mettler	Independent	$8,350	$8,350	$0	As of September 12, 2022
Silvio Pellegrini	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Andrew Phelps	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Sherry Strizak	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Tremayne Wilson	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.

Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.

• Open Secrets - Alaska U.S. House primary election, 2022
• Federal Election Commission - Alaska U.S. House primary election, 2022

• Alaskans for TARA spent $442,102 supporting Tara Sweeney as of August 12, 2022.
• Americans for Prosperity Action had spent $773,002 supporting Nick Begich as of August 12, 2022.
• Protect Freedom PAC spent $298,125 supporting Sarah Palin as of August 12, 2022.

Alaska's top-four primary/ranked-choice voting general election system

See also: Alaska Ballot Measure 2, Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative (2020)

In 2020, voters in Alaska passed Ballot Measure 2 in a 50.55%-49.45% vote. The measure established open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and ranked-choice voting for general elections, including presidential elections. As a result, the 2022 special and regular U.S. House elections were conducted as follows.

In each race, all primary candidates ran in a single primary election, regardless of the candidate's party affiliation. The four candidates that received the most votes advanced to the general election. As of 2022, California and Washington used a top-two system for primaries.

At the general election, voters used ranked-choice voting. They could rank the four candidates that advanced from their top-four primaries. A candidate needed a simple majority of the vote (50%+1) to be declared the winner of an election. Under this system, if no candidate wins a simple majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. People who voted for that candidate as their first choice have their votes redistributed to their second choice. The tabulation process continues until there are two candidates remaining, and the candidate with the greatest number of votes wins.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - An interactive map of the district including cities and towns.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Because Alaska only has one district, it did not change as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle.

Competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Alaska.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Alaska in 2022. Information below was calculated on August 11, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Twenty-two candidates filed to run in Alaska's At-Large U.S. House district, a decade-high. The candidates who filed included nine Republicans, one Democrat, nine independents, and three third-party candidates. The 22 candidates who ran this year were 16 more than the six candidates who ran in 2020 and 15 more than the seven who ran in 2018.

Because it only had one U.S. House seat, Alaska did not need to redistrict after the 2020 census. Alaska’s At-Large seat was open for the first time since 1970. Incumbent Rep. Don Young (R), who represented the district for 49 years, passed away in March. A special election to replace Young took place on August 16, concurrently with the regular election primary.

This was the first regular election primary to take place using Alaska’s top-four primary system. Under this system, primary candidates run in a single primary election, regardless of the candidate's party affiliation. The four candidates that receive the most votes advance to the general election. In the general election, voters use ranked-choice voting to select the winner.

Presidential elections

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alaska's At-Large the 165th most Republican district nationally.

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Alaska's At-Large based on 2022 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
43.0%	53.1%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Alaska, 2020

Alaska presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 1 Democratic win
• 15 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Alaska and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Alaska
	Alaska	United States
Population	710,231	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	571,019	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	64.6%	72.5%
Black/African American	3.3%	12.7%
Asian	6.2%	5.5%
Native American	14.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	1.2%	0.2%
Other (single race)	1.5%	4.9%
Multiple	8.2%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	7%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	92.8%	88%
College graduation rate	29.6%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$77,640	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	10.7%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

State party control

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Alaska's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Alaska, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	0	2
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	1	3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Alaska's top three state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Alaska, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Mike Dunleavy
Lieutenant Governor	Kevin Meyer
Attorney General	Treg Taylor

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Alaska State Legislature as of November 2022.

Alaska State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	13
	Vacancies	0
Total		20

Alaska House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	15
	Republican Party	21
	Independent	3
	Nonpartisan	1
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Alaska was a divided government, with Republicans controlling the state senate and governorship and a split house. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Alaska Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas  •  Six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

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Governor	I	I	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	I	I	I	I	R	R	R	R
Senate	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
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Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Alaska in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Alaska, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Alaska	U.S. House	All candidates	N/A	$100.00	6/1/2022	Source

District history

2022

Special election

See also: United States House of Representatives special election in Alaska, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Select round: Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Mary Peltola in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Mary Peltola	51.5	91,266	15,467	Won (2)
		Sarah Palin	48.5	86,026	27,053	2
		Nicholas Begich	0.0	0	-53,810	1
		Chris Bye (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Robert Ornelas (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
	Submit photo	Sherry Strizak (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Tara Sweeney (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
	Submit photo	Ernest Thomas (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Mary Peltola	40.2	75,799	0	Won (2)
		Sarah Palin	31.3	58,973	0	2
		Nicholas Begich	28.5	53,810	0	1
		Chris Bye (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Robert Ornelas (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
	Submit photo	Sherry Strizak (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
		Tara Sweeney (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1
	Submit photo	Ernest Thomas (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 188,582
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Al Gross (Independent)

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

The following candidates ran in the special primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on June 11, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Palin (R)	27.0	43,601
✔		Nicholas Begich (R)	19.1	30,861
✔		Al Gross (Independent)	12.6	20,392
✔		Mary Peltola (D)	10.1	16,265
		Tara Sweeney (R)	5.9	9,560
		Santa Claus (Independent)	4.7	7,625
		Christopher Constant (D)	3.9	6,224
		Jeff Lowenfels (Independent)	3.7	5,994
		John B. Coghill (R)	2.4	3,842
		Josh Revak (R)	2.3	3,785
	Submit photo	Andrew Halcro (Independent)	1.9	3,013
		Adam Wool (D)	1.7	2,730
	Submit photo	Emil Notti (D)	1.1	1,777
		Chris Bye (L)	0.6	1,049
	Submit photo	Mike Milligan (D)	0.4	608
		John Howe (Alaskan Independence Party)	0.2	380
	Submit photo	Laurel Foster (Independent)	0.2	338
		Stephen Wright (R)	0.2	332
	Submit photo	Jay Armstrong (R)	0.2	286
		J.R. Myers (L)	0.2	285
		Gregg Brelsford (Independent)	0.2	284
	Submit photo	Ernest Thomas (D)	0.1	199
		Robert Lyons (R)	0.1	197
	Submit photo	Otto Florschutz (R)	0.1	193
	Submit photo	Maxwell Sumner (R)	0.1	133
	Submit photo	Richard Trotter (R)	0.1	121
	Submit photo	Anne McCabe (Independent)	0.1	118
	Submit photo	John Callahan (R)	0.1	114
		Arlene Carle (Independent)	0.1	107
	Submit photo	Tim Beck (Independent)	0.1	96
	Submit photo	Thomas Gibbons (R)	0.1	94
	Submit photo	Sherry Mettler (Independent)	0.1	92
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Independent)	0.1	87
		Robert Ornelas (American Independent Party)	0.1	83
	Submit photo	Ted Heintz (L)	0.0	70
	Submit photo	Silvio Pellegrini (Independent)	0.0	70
	Submit photo	Karyn Griffin (Independent)	0.0	67
	Submit photo	David Hughes (Independent)	0.0	54
	Submit photo	Don Knight (Independent)	0.0	46
	Submit photo	Jo Woodward (R)	0.0	44
	Submit photo	Jason Williams (Independent)	0.0	37
	Submit photo	Robert Brown (Independent)	0.0	36
	Submit photo	Dennis Aguayo (Independent)	0.0	31
		William Hibler (Independent)	0.0	25
	Submit photo	Bradley Welter (R)	0.0	24
	Submit photo	David Thistle (Independent)	0.0	23
	Submit photo	Brian Beal (Independent)	0.0	19
	Submit photo	Mikel Melander (R)	0.0	17

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 161,428
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jesse Sumner (R)
• Breck Craig (Independent)
• Richard Morris (Independent)

2020

See also: Alaska's At-Large Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Incumbent Don Young defeated Alyse Galvin and Gerald Heikes in the general election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Don Young (R)	54.4	192,126
		Alyse Galvin (Nonpartisan)	45.3	159,856
	Submit photo	Gerald Heikes (R) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,183

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 353,165
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Thomas Lamb (Nonpartisan)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Incumbent Don Young defeated Thomas Nelson and Gerald Heikes in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Don Young	76.1	51,972
	Submit photo	Thomas Nelson	18.1	12,344
	Submit photo	Gerald Heikes	5.8	3,954

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,270
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Arianna Cocallas (R)

Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election

Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Alyse Galvin defeated Ray Sean Tugatuk and William Hibler in the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alyse Galvin	85.8	53,258
	Submit photo	Ray Sean Tugatuk	7.8	4,858
		William Hibler	6.3	3,931

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,047
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Alaska's At-Large Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Incumbent Don Young defeated Alyse Galvin in the general election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Don Young (R)	53.3	149,779
		Alyse Galvin (D)	46.7	131,199

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 280,978 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Alyse Galvin defeated Dimitri Shein, Carol Hafner, and Christopher Cumings in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 21, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alyse Galvin	53.6	21,742
		Dimitri Shein	23.3	9,434
		Carol Hafner	15.0	6,071
	Submit photo	Christopher Cumings	8.1	3,304

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,551
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Greg Fitch (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Incumbent Don Young defeated Thomas Nelson and Jed Whittaker in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 21, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Don Young	70.8	49,667
	Submit photo	Thomas Nelson	15.6	10,913
	Submit photo	Jed Whittaker	13.6	9,525

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,105
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Don Young (R) defeated Steve Lindbeck (D), Jim McDermott (L), Bernie Souphanavong (I), and Stephen Wright (R Write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Young defeated Gerald Heikes, Jesse Tingley, and Stephen Wright in the Republican primary, while Lindbeck defeated William Hibler and Lynette Hinz to win the Democratic nomination. Jim McDermott defeated Jon Briggs Watts in the Libertarian primary. The primary elections took place on August 16, 2016.

U.S. House, Alaska's At-Large District General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Don Young Incumbent	50.3%	155,088
	Democratic	Steve Lindbeck	36%	111,019
	Libertarian	Jim McDermott	10.3%	31,770
	Independent	Bernie Souphanavong	3%	9,093
	N/A	Write-in	0.4%	1,228
Total Votes				308,198
Source: Alaska Secretary of State

U.S. House, Alaska At-Large District Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Don Young Incumbent	71.5%	38,998
Stephen Wright	18.7%	10,189
Gerald Heikes	5.2%	2,817
Jesse Tingley	4.6%	2,524
Total Votes		54,528
Source: Alaska Division of Elections

U.S. House, Alaska At-Large District Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Steve Lindbeck	67.9%	17,009
Lynette Hinz	20.5%	5,130
William Hibler	11.6%	2,918
Total Votes		25,057
Source: Alaska Division of Elections

U.S. House, Alaska At-Large District Libertarian Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jim McDermott	71.4%	3,960
Jon Briggs Watts	28.6%	1,583
Total Votes		5,543
Source: Alaska Division of Elections

Click [show] to view election results dating to 2014 and earlier.

2014 See also: Alaska's At-Large Congressional District elections, 2014 Alaska's At-Large Congressional District held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Don Young (R) defeated Forrest Dunbar (D) and Jim McDermott (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska's At-Large District General Election, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young Incumbent 51% 142,572      Democratic Forrest Dunbar 41% 114,602      Libertarian Jim McDermott 7.6% 21,290      N/A Write-in 0.5% 1,277 Total Votes 279,741 Source: Alaska Secretary of State 2012 See also: Alaska's At-Large Congressional District elections, 2012 On November 6, 2012, Don Young (R) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sharon Cissna (D), Jim McDermott (L), Ted Gianoutsos (I) and Clinton Desjarlais (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young 63.9% 185,296      Democratic Sharon M. Cissna 28.6% 82,927      Libertarian Jim C. McDermott 5.2% 15,028      NA Ted Gianoutsos 1.9% 5,589      NA Write-in 0.3% 964 Total Votes 289,804 Source: Alaska Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" 2010 On November 2, 2010, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Harry T. Crawford, Jr. (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 69% 175,384      Democratic Harry T. Crawford, Jr. 30.5% 77,606      N/A Write-in 0.5% 1,345 Total Votes 254,335 2008 On November 4, 2008, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ethan A. Berkowitz (D) and Don R. Wright (Alaskan Independence) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 50.1% 158,939      Democratic Ethan A. Berkowitz 45% 142,560      Alaskan Independence Don R. Wright 4.5% 14,274      N/A Write-in 0.4% 1,205 Total Votes 316,978 2006 On November 7, 2006, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Diane E. Benson (D), Alexander Crawford (L), Eva L. Ince (G) and William W. Ratigan (Impeach Now) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 56.6% 132,743      Democratic Diane E. Benson 40% 93,879      Libertarian Alexander Crawford 1.7% 4,029      Green Eva L. Ince 0.8% 1,819      Impeach Now William W. Ratigan 0.7% 1,615      N/A Write-in 0.2% 560 Total Votes 234,645 2004 On November 2, 2004, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Thomas M. Higgins (D), Timothy A. Feller (G) and Alvin A. Anders (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 71.1% 213,216      Democratic Thomas M. Higgins 22.4% 67,074      Green Timothy A. Feller 3.8% 11,434      Libertarian Alvin A. Anders 2.4% 7,157      N/A Write-in 0.4% 1,115 Total Votes 299,996 2002 On November 5, 2002, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Clifford Greene (D), Russell deForest (G) and Rob Clift (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 74.5% 169,685      Democratic Clifford Greene 17.3% 39,357      Green Russell deForest 6.3% 14,435      Libertarian Rob Clift 1.7% 3,797      N/A Write-in 0.2% 451 Total Votes 227,725 2000 On November 7, 2000, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Clifford Mark Greene (D), Anna C. Young (G), Jim Dore (Alaskan Independence) and Leonard J. Karpinski (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 69.6% 190,862      Democratic Clifford Mark Greene 16.5% 45,372      Green Anna C. Young 8.2% 22,440      Alaskan Independence Jim Dore 3.7% 10,085      Libertarian Leonard J. Karpinski 1.8% 4,802      N/A Write-in 0.3% 832 Total Votes 274,393 1998 On November 3, 1998, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Duncan (D) and John J. G. Grames (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1998 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 62.6% 139,676      Democratic Jim Duncan 34.6% 77,232      Green John J. G. Grames 2.7% 5,923      N/A Write-in 0.2% 469 Total Votes 223,300 1996 On November 5, 1996, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Georgianna Lincoln (D), William J. Nemec, II (Alaskan Independence) and John J. G. Grames (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1996 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 59.4% 138,834      Democratic Georgianna Lincoln 36.4% 85,114      Alaskan Independence William J. Nemec, II 2.1% 5,017      Green John J. G. Grames 1.9% 4,513      N/A Write-in 0.1% 222 Total Votes 233,700 1994 On November 8, 1994, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tony Smith (D) and Joni Whitmore (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1994 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 56.9% 118,537      Democratic Tony Smith 32.7% 68,172      Green Joni Whitmore 10.2% 21,277      N/A Write-in 0.1% 254 Total Votes 208,240 1992 On November 3, 1992, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated John Devens (D), Michael States (Alaskan Independence) and Mike Milligan (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1992 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 46.8% 111,849      Democratic John Devens 42.8% 102,378      Alaskan Independence Michael States 6.3% 15,049      Green Mike Milligan 4% 9,529      N/A Write-in 0.1% 311 Total Votes 239,116 1990 On November 6, 1990, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated John S. Devens (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1990 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 51.7% 99,003      Democratic John S. Devens 47.8% 91,677      N/A Write-in 0.5% 967 Total Votes 191,647 1988 On November 8, 1988, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Peter Gruenstein (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1988 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 62.5% 120,595      Democratic Peter Gruenstein 37.3% 71,881      Write-in Write-in 0.2% 479 Total Votes 192,955 1986 On November 4, 1986, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Pegge Begich (D) and Betty Breck (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1986 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 56.5% 101,799      Democratic Pegge Begich 41.1% 74,053      Libertarian Betty Breck 2.3% 4,182      N/A Write-in 0.1% 243 Total Votes 180,277 1984 On November 6, 1984, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Pegge Begich (D) and Betty Breck (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1984 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 55% 113,582      Democratic Pegge Begich 41.7% 86,052      Independent Betty Breck 3.2% 6,508      N/A Other 0.1% 295 Total Votes 206,437 1982 On November 2, 1982, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dave Carlson (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1982 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 70.8% 128,274      Democratic Dave Carlson 28.7% 52,011      N/A Write-in 0.4% 799 Total Votes 181,084 1980 On November 4, 1980, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Kevin Parnell (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1980 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 73.8% 114,089      Democratic Kevin Parnell 25.8% 39,922      N/A Write-in 0.4% 607 Total Votes 154,618 1978 On November 7, 1978, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Patrick Rodey (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1978 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 55.4% 68,811      Democratic Patrick Rodey 44.4% 55,176      N/A Write-in 0.2% 200 Total Votes 124,187 1976 On November 2, 1976, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Eben Hopson (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1976 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 70.8% 83,722      Democratic Eben Hopson 28.9% 34,194      N/A Write-in 0.2% 292 Total Votes 118,208 1974 On November 4, 1974, Don Young won re-election to the United States House. He defeated William L. Hensley (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1974 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Don Young incumbent 53.8% 51,641      Democratic William L. Hensley 46.2% 44,280 Total Votes 95,921 1972 On November 7, 1972, Nick Begich won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Don Young (R) in the general election. U.S. House, Alaska At-Large General Election, 1972 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Nick Begich incumbent 56.2% 53,651      Republican Don Young 43.8% 41,750 Total Votes 95,401

Ranked-choice voting in the U.S.

History of RCV in the states

As of 2022, voters had decided on four ranked-choice voting ballot measures in three states—Alaska, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Maine (2016, 2018)

In 2016, Maine became the first state to pass an RCV ballot measure, Maine Question 5, which established the voting system for congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative primary and general elections.

Legislators passed a bill to repeal Question 5, but the initiative's backers brought the legislation to a public vote through the veto referendum process in 2018. Voters approved Question 1, upholding RCV in Maine.

The Maine State Legislature expanded RCV to presidential elections in 2020. Opponents petitioned a referendum to repeal the legislation but fell about 1,000 signatures short of the requirement.

Massachusetts (2020)

Voters in Massachusetts defeated an RCV ballot initiative in 2020 with 54.8% of the vote. Like Maine Question 5, Massachusetts Question 2 would have established RCV for primary and general elections.

Alaska (2020)

Alaska Measure 2 passed with 50.6% of the vote. Measure 2 was different than Maine's or Massachusetts' RCV initiatives in that primary elections would not use RCV. Instead, Measure 2 replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices. Under Measure 2, voters then use RCV to rank the four candidates at the general election.

State and local use

As of November 2025, ranked-choice voting is used in some states and localities across the United States. See the map, tables, and list below for further details. The numbers below do not include states where RCV is used by a political party for partisan primaries, or where military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots for runoff elections. For more information on these uses of RCV, see the table beneath the map below.

If you know of any additional U.S. localities using RCV that should be included here, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

• RCV used statewide: Three states use RCV statewide. Alaska and Maine use RCV in some federal and statewide elections, while Hawaii uses it for certain statewide elections.
• RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities: Fourteen states contain localities that either use or are scheduled to begin using RCV in municipal elections.
• RCV prohibited: Seventeen states have adopted law prohibiting the use of RCV in any elections.
• No laws addressing RCV, not in use: Twenty-two states have no laws addressing RCV, and neither the state nor any localities in the state use it.

The map below shows which states use ranked-choice voting statewide or in some localities as of November 2025. It also shows the states where RCV is either prohibited or not addressed in the law. It does not show states where RCV is used by a political party for partisan primaries, or where military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots for runoff elections. See the table beneath the map for details on these uses of RCV.

The table below summarizes the use of ranked-choice voting in the U.S. by state as of November 2025.

Ranked-choice voting usage in U.S. states and localities

State	RCV use	Details	State law
Alabama	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2024	Alabama Code § 11-46-10, Alabama Code § 17-1-6
Alaska	RCV used statewide	RCV has been authorized for federal and certain statewide elections since 2020 and used since 2022. RCV was used for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in this state.	Alaska Statutes § 15-15-350
Arizona	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Arkansas	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025	Arkansas Code § 7-1-116
California	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following seven localities: Albany, Berkeley, Eureka, Oakland, Ojai, Palm Desert, Redondo Beach, San Francisco, and San Leandro. Cal. Government Code § 24206 also permits Santa Clara County to use RCV	California Government Code § 24206
Colorado	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following five localities: Basalt, Boulder, Broomfield, Carbondale, and Fort Collins. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-7-118 permits certain municipalities to use RCV for local elections.	Colorado Revised Statutes § 1-7-118.
Connecticut	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Delaware	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following locality: Arden
Florida	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2022, blocking its adoption in the following locality: Sarasota	Florida Statutes § 101.019
Georgia	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections	Military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots when voting in runoff elections.
Hawaii	RCV used statewide	RCV has been authorized statewide for certain federal and local elections since 2022 and used since 2023. RCV was used for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in this state.	Hawaii Revised Statutes § 11-100
Idaho	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2023	Idaho Statutes § 34-903B
Illinois	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is authorized in the following localities: Evanston (scheduled for use in 2025, blocked by legal challenge), Skokie (scheduled for use in 2026), Springfield (only used by overseas absentee voters in local elections)
Indiana	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Iowa	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025	Iowa Code § 49.93
Kansas	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025. RCV was used for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in this state
Kentucky	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2024	Kentucky Revised Statutes § 117.147
Louisiana	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2024	Louisiana Revised Statutes § 18:404
Maine	RCV used statewide	RCV has been authorized for federal and statewide elections since 2016 and used since 2018. Maine has also authorized RCV for all municipal election and it is currently used for these elections in the following localities: Portland, and Westbrook	30-A Maine Revised Statutes § 2528, sub-§ 10
Maryland	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following locality: Tacoma Park
Massachusetts	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following two localities: Cambridge and Easthampton. Cambridge holds the record for the longest continuous use of RCV in the U.S. (1941-present). RCV is also authorized in the following locality: Amherst (schedule for use is uncertain)
Michigan	No laws addressing RCV, not in use	RCV has been approved, but is not used, in the following localities: Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Kalamazoo, East Lansing, and Royal Oak. Although Michigan does not explicitly prohibit the use of RCV, state election laws prevent the implementation of RCV.
Minnesota	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following five localities: Bloomington, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, St. Louis Park, and St. Paul. RCV was also used in the following locality, but it is no longer in use: Hopkins
Mississippi	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2024	Mississippi Code § 23-15-893
Missouri	RCV prohibited	Missouri voters approved Amendment 7 on November 5, 2024. The constitutional amendment prohibited ranked-choice voting, among other changes to the state's election laws	Article VIII, § 3 of the Missouri Constitution
Montana	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2023	Montana Code Annotated § 13-1-125
Nebraska	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Nevada	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections	RCV was used for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in this state
New Hampshire	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
New Jersey	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
New Mexico	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following two localities: Las Cruces and Santa Fe	New Mexico Annotated Statutes § 1-22-16
New York	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following locality: New York City
North Carolina	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
North Dakota	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025	North Dakota Century Code § 16.1-01
Ohio	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Oklahoma	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2024	Oklahoma Statutes § 26-1-112
Oregon	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following locality: Benton County and Corvallis. RCV is also authorized in the following two localities: Multnomah County (scheduled for use in 2026) and Portland (scheduled for use in 2024)
Pennsylvania	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Rhode Island	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
South Carolina	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections	Military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots when voting in runoff elections
South Dakota	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2023	South Dakota Codified Laws § 12-1-9.1.
Tennessee	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2022, blocking its adoption in the following locality: Memphis	Tennessee Code § 2-8-117
Texas	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Utah	RCV is used in the following 12 localities up to 2025: Genola, Heber, Kearns, Lehi, Magna, Midvale, Millcreek, Payson, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Vineyard, and Woodland Hills. The state adopted a pilot program allowing RCV in 2018. The program expired after the 2025 election.		Utah Code § 20A-4-603
Vermont	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is used in the following locality: Burlington
Virginia	RCV authorized by state law, but not in use	All localities in Virginia have been authorized to use RCV since 2021. RCV is used for a partisan primary in the following locality: Arlington	Code of Virginia § 24.2-673.1
Washington	RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities	RCV is authorized in the following locality: Seattle (scheduled for use in 2027)
West Virginia	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025	West Virginia Code § 3-1-52.
Wisconsin	No state laws addressing RCV, not in use for general elections
Wyoming	RCV prohibited	RCV was banned by legislation in 2025	Wyoming Code § 22-2-117

2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

• Georgia gubernatorial election, 2022
• Michigan Attorney General election, 2022
• New York's 12th Congressional District election, 2022 (August 23 Democratic primary)
• Ohio's 11th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 3 Democratic primary)
• United States Senate election in Arizona, 2022 (August 2 Republican primary)

See also

• United States House of Representatives special election in Alaska, 2022 (June 11 top-four primary)
• United States House of Representatives special election in Alaska, 2022
• United States House of Representatives election in Alaska, 2022
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2022
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2022
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2022
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2022

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Alaska's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Lisa Murkowski (R)

Daniel Sullivan (R)

Representatives

Nicholas Begich (R)

Republican Party (3)

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