Wrangell Votes for U.S. House
Every election since 1958, Wrangell has voted on who Alaska should send to the United States House of Representatives. These are the results.
2024 Update: Once the Alaska Division of Elections has official totals from the 2024 General Election, we’ll post them here with analysis.
All of these election results are available from the Alaska Division of Elections. The numbers reported below reflect votes cast inside a Wrangell precinct. A precinct is a place where people go to vote in person. These numbers do not include votes cast early, absentee, or questioned. Those votes are totaled and reported at the district level. If you’re interested in seeing how Wrangell voted for U.S. President, check out Wrangell Votes for President.
Wrangell Votes for U.S. House by Party
1958: In anticipation of becoming a state, Alaska voters turned out to vote for Congress for the first time. While Wrangell favored Republican Henry A. Benson, the rest of Alaska favored Democrat Ralph J. Rivers (57% to 42%).
1960s: The first decade of Alaska statehood saw a series of close races for U.S. House among Wrangell voters. Wrangell and Alaska picked the same winners until 1968, when Alaskans picked Republican Howard Pollock over Democrat Nick Begich (54% to 46%). Wrangell voters gave a slight edge to Begich (232 to 215 votes).
1970: In Alaska, incumbent Democrat Nick Begich beat political newcomer Republican Frank Murkowski 55% to 45%. But in Wrangell, Murkowski received more than double Begich’s votes (255-119), setting a record-high for Republican votes for U.S. House from Wrangell at that point, and handing Begich a record-low for Democrat votes for U.S. House from Wrangell at that point. Frank Murkowski was well known in Wrangell, having recently lived in Wrangell with his wife and children, managing the local National Bank of Alaska branch, and helping to build a new airport at Labouchere Bay.
1972: Shortly before Election Day, incumbent Democrat Nick Begich died in a plane crash. Despite his death, Begich beat political newcomer Republican Don Young statewide (56% to 44%) and in Wrangell (238-170).
1973: To fill Begich’s seat, Alaska held a special election where Republican Don Young narrowly beat Democrat Emil Notti 51% to 48%. But Wrangell bucked the state by selecting Emil Notti over Don Young (180-143). This is the last time Wrangell and Alaska picked different winners for the U.S. House until 2022.
1974: Don Young doubled his voter turnout to defeat Democrat Willie Hensley (316 to 158), beginning years of gains against Democrats voting for U.S. House from Wrangell.
1978: The closest Don Young ever came to losing the Wrangell vote in a re-election campaign came in 1978, when votes for Democrat Patrick Rodney spiked to 311, cutting Don Young’s votes down to 433. Young still won Wrangell by 122 votes, but Rodney’s 311 votes is still the most votes Wrangell has ever cast for a Democrat for U.S. House.
1980s: Young’s numbers continued to climb through the 1980s, tied to the strong support at the top of the ticket for Republican President Ronald Reagan.
1990s: While Republican votes for Don Young remained strong through the 1990s, Democratic votes in Wrangell for U.S. House declined.
2000: Republicans performed very well this election in Wrangell. Don Young received 818 votes from Wrangell, his career best and the most any candidate running for national office has ever received in Wrangell. Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush received 797 votes, the most a candidate for president has ever received in Wrangell. Democrat Clifford Greene received only 95 votes, a record low for Wrangell votes for U.S. House from Wrangell, beat only by his performance two years later in 2002 when he received 79 votes.
2006: While Wrangell’s votes for Democrat for U.S. House remained relatively flat, Don Young lost roughly one-third of his support (458 in 2006, down from 693 in 2004).
2010s: While Don Young began the decade by improving his numbers slightly over the dip of 2006, he saw his numbers fall slowly in Wrangell, while votes for Democrat for U.S. House from Wrangell grew slightly. Young won Wrangell by healthy margins, but he would never again recapture the voter highs in Wrangell of the 1990s or early 2000s.
2022: Don Young passed away on March 18, 2022. At the time of his death in 2022, he was the oldest (88 years) and longest-serving (49 years) member of Congress.
Young’s death set of a Special Election to finish his term. In the era of Stacked Rank Voting, Wrangell voters selected Republican Sarah Palin (246, 48%), Republican Nick Begich (137, 27%), and Democrat Mary Peltola (118, 23%). This special election saw fewer Republican and Democratic votes from Wrangell than any election since 1974 (Don Young’s first re-election campaign).
In the November 2022 general election, Wrangell gave Republican candidates a combined 215 more votes than Democratic candidates, marking the closest margin between the two parties since 1978. Wrangell voters selected Republican Sarah Palin (267, 40%), Democrat Mary Peltola (222, 33%), and Republican Nick Begich (170, 25%). In the first round of statewide voting, Alaska voters selected Mary Peltola (49%), Sarah Palin (26%), and Nick Begich (23%). The 2022 special and general elections for U.S. House are the first two times Wrangell has not selected winner of the House race since 1973 special election.
Wrangell Votes for U.S. House by Party Registration
In 1996, the Alaska Division of Elections began publishing voter registration by party. Since then, Nonpartisan and Undeclared voters make up the largest group of Wrangell registered voters. They are almost double the number of registered Democrats and Republicans combined.
Through 2014, the number of votes Don Young received in Wrangell each election exceeded the number of registered Republicans in Wrangell. This suggests he was able to capture the votes of Nonpartisan and Undeclared voters. But that changed in 2016, when Don Young received slightly fewer votes (491) than there were registered Republicans in Wrangell (535). This trend has held steady through the 2022 elections, suggesting Republicans had trouble turning out not only their own registered voters, but that of Nonpartisan and Undeclared voters, as well.
Since 2014, the number of Democratic votes for U.S. House from Wrangell has slightly exceeded the number of registered Democrats in Wrangell, with the exception of the 2022 Special Election which saw a turnout dip in both parties.
Just like Wrangell’s votes for U.S. President, the votes for each party over time are narrowing down to the number of registered voters in Wrangell for that party. This suggests both parties may be struggling to attract Nonpartisan and Undeclared voters in Wrangell.
Don Young’s Legacy
Don Young standing in front of the Wrangell Sentinel offices in May 2020. (Photo credit: Wrangell Sentinel)
In 2003, I visited Washington, D.C. and had a chance to meet Don Young in his office. He was everything I expected him to be, but what surprised me the most was how much he was like a Wrangell guy. I grew up knowing fishermen, hunters, loggers, and outdoorsmen. Don Young blended right in, and it showed when he visited Wrangell.