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Presidential election in Alaska, 2016

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General election in Alaska
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Donald Trump
Electoral votes: Three
2012 winner: Mitt Romney (R)
Democratic Caucuses
  Date: March 26, 2016
Winner: Bernie Sanders
Republican Caucuses
  Date: March 1, 2016
Winner: Ted Cruz
Down ballot races in Alaska
  U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Alaska State Senate
Alaska House of Representatives
Alaska judicial elections
Alaska local judicial elections
State ballot measures
School board elections
Municipal elections
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Alaska held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. Republican caucuses took place on March 1, 2016. Democratic caucuses took place on March 26, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Donald Trump won Alaska in the general election.
  • In 2016, Alaska had three electoral votes, which was 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 1.1 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1960—the first year Alaska cast electoral votes in a general election for president—and 2016, Alaska voted for the winning presidential candidate 60 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Alaska supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates, 93.33 to 6.67 percent, making it one of the most reliably Republican states in the country. The state supported Republican candidates in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
  • Democratic caucuses took place in Alaska on March 26, 2016. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton, 81.1 to 18.9 percent. Republican caucuses took place in Alaska on March 1, 2016. Ted Cruz won with 36.4 percent of the vote.

    • General election candidates and results

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Alaska elections website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November. Write-in candidates were not included in the list below.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Alaska

    ☐ Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley (Constitution)
    ☐ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☐ Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg (Non-affiliated)
    ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green)
    ☑ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Alaska, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 36.6% 116,454 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump/Mike Pence 51.3% 163,387 3
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 5.9% 18,725 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 1.8% 5,735 0
         Constitution Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley 1.2% 3,866 0
         Non-affiliated Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg 0.4% 1,240 0
         - Write-in votes 2.9% 9,201 0
    Total Votes 318,608 3
    Election results via: Alaska Division of Elections

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Alaska's voting record in presidential elections from 1960—the first year Alaska participated in a general election for president—to 2016. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Alaska, 1960-2016

    Between 1960 and 2016:

    • Alaska participated in 15 presidential elections.
    • Alaska voted for the winning presidential candidate 60 percent of the time.
    • Alaska voted Democratic 6.67 percent of the time and Republican 93.33 percent of the time.

    Presidential election voting record in Alaska, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Alaska, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 40.8% 122,640 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMitt Romney/Paul Ryan 54.8% 164,676 3
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 2.5% 7,392 0
         Green Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala 1% 2,917 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 1% 2,870 0
    Total Votes 300,495 3
    Election results via: Alaska Secretary of State

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Alaska, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden 37.9% 123,594 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn McCain/Sarah Palin 59.4% 193,841 3
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 1.2% 3,783 0
         Libertarian Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root 0.5% 1,589 0
         American Independent Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle 0.5% 1,660 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0.5% 1,730 0
    Total Votes 326,197 3
    Election results via: Alaska Secretary of State

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Alaska electors

    In 2016, Alaska had three electoral votes. Alaska's share of electoral votes represented 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 1.1 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Democratic and Republican electors in Alaska in 2016 were chosen at state conventions.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[2][3]

    Alaska was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: Alaska elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Alaska covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Caucuses (March 2016)

    Quick facts

    Democrats:
    • 2016 Democratic winner: Bernie Sanders
    • 2008 Democratic winner: Barack Obama
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 16
    		 Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Ted Cruz
    • 2012 Republican winner: Mitt Romney
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 28

    Democrats

    Bernie Sanders won the Alaska Democratic caucus. He beat Hillary Clinton by more than 60 points. Alaska's caucus precincts are divided up by the state's legislative districts. Sanders won all 40 of them. Sixteen pledged delegates were up for grabs. In 2008, Clinton lost Alaska to Barack Obama 25 to 75 percent. Two other western states also held Democratic caucuses on March 26: Washington and Hawaii.

    Republicans

    Ted Cruz won the 2016 Alaska Republican caucuses. The race was the last contest to be called on Super Tuesday and proved to be one of the most competitive. Cruz defeated Donald Trump by less than 630 votes. The victory marked Cruz's third win of the evening. Former Alaska governor and 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Trump in January 2016. Cruz won all the legislative districts surrounding the city of Fairbanks and most districts around the cities of Anchorage and Juneau.[4]

    Caucus results

    Democrats

    Alaska Democratic Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders 81.1% 437 13
    Hillary Clinton 18.9% 102 3
    Roque De La Feunte 0% 0 0
    Other 0% 0 0
    Totals 539 16
    Source: CNN and Alaska Democratic Party

    Vote totals reflect the number of state convention delegates won.

    Republicans

    Alaska Republican Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngTed Cruz 36.4% 7,973 12
    Donald Trump 33.5% 7,346 11
    Marco Rubio 15.1% 3,318 5
    Ben Carson 10.9% 2,401 0
    John Kasich 4.1% 892 0
    Other 0% 0 0
    Totals 21,930 28
    Source: CNN and The New York Times

    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Alaska had 20 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 16 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide caucus results.[5][6]

    Four party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[5][7]

    Alaska superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from Alaska, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Alaska had 28 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, three were district-level delegates (three for the state's single congressional district). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 13 percent of the statewide vote in order to be eligible to win a share of Alaska's district delegates.[8][9]

    Of the remaining 25 delegates, 22 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 13 percent of the statewide vote in order to be eligible to win a share of Alaska's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as pledged delegates to the Republican National Convention.[8][9]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from Alaska, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from Alaska, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Alaska presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 1 Democratic win
    • 16 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 2024
    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 R

    State profile

    Demographic data for Alaska
     AlaskaU.S.
    Total population:737,709316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):570,6413,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:66%73.6%
    Black/African American:3.4%12.6%
    Asian:5.9%5.1%
    Native American:13.8%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:1.2%0.2%
    Two or more:8.4%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:6.5%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:92.1%86.7%
    College graduation rate:28%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$72,515$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:11.3%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alaska.
    **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.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Alaska

    Alaska voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More Alaska coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    2. ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    3. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    4. ↑ The New York Times, "Alaska Caucus Results," March 2, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    6. ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    7. ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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    Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate


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