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United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020 (August 18 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Aug. 18
- Primary type: Open (Democratic, Libertarian, and Alaskan Independence parties); semi-closed (Republican)
- Registration deadline(s): July 19
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: Aug. 3
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Aug. 18 (postmarked)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2026 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, Alaska |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2020 |
| Primary: August 18, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Dan Sullivan (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Alaska |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Lean Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • At-large Alaska elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on August 18, 2020, in Alaska to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Al Gross and John Howe advanced from the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for U.S. Senate Alaska.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Dan Sullivan (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.
Alaska uses a top-four primary for congressional and state-level offices. Under Alaska's top-four primary system, all candidates for a given office run in a single primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, then advance to the general election.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This page focuses on Alaska's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Political party events in Alaska were modified as follows:
- Political party events: The Democratic Party of Alaska canceled in-person voting in its presidential preference primary, originally scheduled for April 4, 2020. All voting was conducted by mail. The receipt deadline for mail-in ballots was April 20, 2020.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Alaska Democratic and Independence primary candidates
Did not make the ballot:
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[3] 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.[4] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edgar Blatchford | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| John Howe | Alaskan Independence Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Chris Cumings | Nonpartisan | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Al Gross | Nonpartisan | $19,572,462 | $19,545,631 | $26,831 | As of December 31, 2020 |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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." |
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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.[5]
- 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.[6][7][8]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Alaska, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Lean Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Alaska, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "August 18, 2020 Primary Election Information," accessed October 20, 2025
- ↑ The Alaska Legislature, "Alaska Stat. § 15.25.010," accessed October 20, 2025
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
