1970 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

1970 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska
	Results by state house district; Begich: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Murkowski: 50–60%
Representative at-large before election; Howard Pollock ; Republican	Elected Representative at-large; Nick Begich ; Democratic

Last updated December 21, 2024

The Alaska congressional election of 1970 was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1970. The term of the state's sole Representative to the United States House of Representatives expired on January 3, 1971. Incumbent Howard Wallace Pollock retired to run for Governor of Alaska. The winning candidate would serve a two-year term from January 3, 1971, to January 3, 1973. Nick Begich defeated former Alaska Commissioner of Economic Development & Anchorage banker Frank Murkowski, by a margin of 10.2%.^[1]

Begich would go missing on October 16, 1972, posthumously win the 1972 election, be declared dead on December 29, 1972, and be succeeded by Don Young, who won the 1973 special election. Young would hold the seat for 49 years, until his death in 2022. Murkowski would be elected U.S. Senator in the 1980 Senate election, and later become Governor for one term in the 2002 gubernatorial election.

Campaign

Begich, now more experienced following his 1968 campaign, had maintained many files from the prior campaign, knowing full well how to campaign amongst the vast, sparsely populated state. Murkowski, a banker with little to no political experience, relied instead on his economic experience, being a 28-year Alaska resident & senior banker, notably serving as Alaska Commissioner of Economic Development under Governor Walter Hickel, as well as tying himself to the policies of popular freshman U.S. Senator Ted Stevens & President Richard Nixon. Begich used simple but effective campaign slogans such as "You must be able to trust your Congressman" and "A true representative of all the people", as well as relying on his voting record in the State Senate. Murkowski countered by campaigning on legislation to raise military pay as to provide more incentive to serve, as well as an all-volunteer military.

Republicans were much more successful in raising campaign funding, but Democrats brought more people, as was shown when the Republicans sold 100 $10 tickets to a Fairbanks rally where U.S. Senator John Tower spoke, just for Democrats to draw a crowd of 500, admission free, to a rally at Alaskaland. Due to Begich's support for the Alaska Federation of Natives' views on Alaska land claims disputes, a high issue since statehood, Begich performed very well amongst native voters and the 'Bush' regions of Alaska, especially due to the Republican tickets' failure to adequately address economic concerns, something key for the economically depressed natives.^[1]

General election

Results

1970 Alaska at-large congressional district election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nick Begich	44,137	55.1%	+9.3%
	Republican	Frank Murkowski	35,947	44.9%	−9.3%
Total votes			80,084	100.00%

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References

1 2 Chinn, Ronald E. “The 1970 Election in Alaska.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 2, 1971, pp. 234–42. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/446868. Accessed 5 Mar. 2023.
↑ "Election Results". JSTOR 446868.

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[ronchi-1] 1 2 Chinn, Ronald E. “The 1970 Election in Alaska.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 2, 1971, pp. 234–42. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/446868. Accessed 5 Mar. 2023.

[election-2] "Election Results". JSTOR 446868.

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