2004 United States Senate election in Alaska

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2004 United States Senate election in Alaska
Flag of Alaska.svg
  1998 November 2, 2004 2010  
  Lisa Murkowski.jpg Tony Knowles (D-AK) (cropped).jpg
Nominee Lisa Murkowski Tony Knowles
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote149,773140,424
Percentage48.58%45.55%

2004 U.S. Senate election in Alaska.svg
Results by borough and census area
Murkowski:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Knowles:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Lisa Murkowski
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Lisa Murkowski
Republican

The 2004 United States Senate election in Alaska took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives, various state and local elections, and the presidential election of that year. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Anchorage, sought election to her first full term after being appointed by her father Frank Murkowski to serve out the rest of the latter's unexpired term when he resigned in December 2002 to become Governor of Alaska. Her main challenger was Democratic former governor Tony Knowles, her father's predecessor as governor. Murkowski won by a slight margin. As of 2022, Senator Murkowski’s vote total of 149,773 votes remains the most raw votes she has ever received during any of her runs for the US Senate.

Contents

Background

Although Alaska is heavily Republican, popular opinion had swung against the Murkowski family because of a tax increase passed by Governor Frank Murkowski, Lisa Murkowski's father. In addition, many voters disapproved of apparent nepotism in the appointment of Lisa Murkowski to the Senate. Knowles, who as mentioned above preceded Frank Murkowski as governor, had enlisted extensive out-of-state support for his bid to take over Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat. However, veteran Republican Senator Ted Stevens taped advertisements warning Alaskans that electing a Democrat could result in fewer federal dollars for Alaska.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tony Knowles 40,881 95.0%
Democratic Don Wright1,0802.5%
Democratic Theresa Obermeyer1,0452.4%
Total votes43,006 100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Lisa Murkowski (incumbent) 45,710 58.1%
Republican Mike Miller29,31337.3%
Republican Wev Shea2,8573.6%
Republican Jim Dore7480.9%
Total votes78,628 100.0%

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

  • Ted Gianoutsos (I), lobbyist and activist on ANWR and veterans issues
  • Scott Kohlhaas (L), party activist and perennial candidate
  • Marc Millican (I), aviator, U.S. Air Force veteran
  • Jerry Sanders (AI), businessman, former state representative
  • Jim Sykes (G), party activist and perennial candidate

Campaign

Lisa Murkowski had very low approval ratings as senator due to her father, Frank Murkowski, who at the time was the governor of Alaska with extremely low approval ratings himself. Former governor Tony Knowles ran against Murkowski. He ran as a Democrat who supported drilling in ANWR, in contrast to most Democrats. Alaska's senior senator, Ted Stevens, worked to rescue her campaign and help her maintain her seat. [2]

Debates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [3] Lean D (flip)November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source [4] Dates administeredMurkowski (R)Knowles (D)
KTUUOctober 4, 200445%48%
KTUU October 18, 200445%47%
McLaughlinOctober 28, 200448%43%

Results

2004 United States Senate election in Alaska [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Lisa Murkowski (incumbent) 149,773 48.58% −25.91%
Democratic Tony Knowles 140,42445.55%+25.82%
Independent Marc J. Millican8,8852.88%
Independence Jerry Sanders3,7851.23%
Green Jim Sykes3,0530.99%2.22%
Libertarian Scott A. Kohlhaas1,2400.40%−1.87%
Independent Ted Gianoutsas7320.24%
Write-ins4230.14%
Majority9,3493.03%−51.74%
Turnout 308,315
Republican hold Swing

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "2004 Primary Election - August 24, 2004 Official Results". State of Alaska. September 14, 2004. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.
  2. Hulse, Carl (October 31, 2004). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: CONTROL OF CONGRESS; Races for House and Senate Have Been Nasty, Expensive and Focused on Local Issues". New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  3. "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  4. "Polls". RealClear Politics. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  5. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF).