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Alaskan Independence Party | |
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Chairperson | John Wayne Howe |
Founder | Joe Vogler |
Founded | 1973 June 14, 1984 [1] | (as Alaskans for Independence)
Membership (2023) | ![]() |
Ideology | Alaska nationalism Libertarian conservatism Social conservatism |
Colors | Blue Gold |
Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 2 |
Seats in the Senate | 0 / 20 |
Seats in the House | 0 / 40 |
Seats in the U.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives | 0 / 1 |
Website | |
alaskanindependence | |
The Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party in the United States that advocates for an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also supports gun rights, direct democracy, privatization, abolishing federal land ownership, and limited government. [3]
Wally Hickel was elected as the Governor of Alaska in 1990 under the Independence Party, making it one of the few third parties to have controlled a governor's seat; however, Hickel transferred to the Republican Party before the 1994 election.
In early 1973, Vogler founded Alaskans for Independence (AFI), originally to label a petition drive. [4] Vogler wrote to local Alaskan newspapers and argued against the Alaskan statehood vote. In 1973, Vogler began circulating a petition seeking support for secession of Alaska from the United States. The Alaska magazine published a piece at that time in which Vogler claimed to have gathered 25,000 signatures in three weeks.[ citation needed ]
In 1978, Vogler merged the AFI into the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP), a political party. [4]
During the first decade of its existence, the Party was used exclusively by Vogler for his first two campaigns for governor and campaign for lieutenant governor. Vogler would serve as the AIP's standard-bearer for most of the party's first two decades. [5] The party has maintained its recognized status since, first by maintaining thresholds in gubernatorial elections, then through same with voter registration. [1]
Vogler, who founded the AIP described himself as a "separatist", but the AIP's platform does not explicitly call for secession. Referring to Alaska's 1959 admission to the union, the AIP's charter states that "The Alaskan Independence Party's goal is the vote we were entitled to in 1958, one choice from among the following four choices:
Members of the AIP, including Vogler, alleged that the 1958 referendum on Alaskan statehood was rigged by the federal government. [6]
On multiple occasions, Vogler called for violence against the federal government. For instance, Vogler once said, "God, I hate those sons of bitches. If I ever get a revolution going, I'm going to import a bunch of guillotines and lop off their lying heads." [6] In a 1991 interview, Vogler said "And you say the hell with [government]. And you renounce allegiance, and you pledge your efforts, your effects, your honor, your life to Alaska." [4] While the Chair of the AIP Vogler had a dispute with the Bureau of Land Management, resulting in a stand-off with BLM officers and a lawsuit against Vogler by the BLM. [6]
Vogler's running mate in 1986 was Al Rowe, a Fairbanks resident and former Alaska State Trooper. Rowe took out a series of newspaper ads, fashioning himself in the image of Sheriff Buford Pusser. These ads were a major attention getter during the race.[ citation needed ] Between Rowe's ads and the turmoil existing in the Republican Party over the nomination of Arliss Sturgulewski, the AIP gained 5.2 percent of the vote, becoming a recognized party in Alaska for the first time.[ citation needed ]
In 1990, former Republican governor Walter Joseph Hickel won the election for governor as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, with Jack Coghill as his running mate. This was the first time since Alaska joined the union that a third-party candidate has been elected governor, until the election of Jesse Ventura in Minnesota in 1998, and then Bill Walker in Alaska in 2014. Hickel refused a vote on secession called on by a fringe group within the AIP loyal to Vogler's original vision. He rejoined the Republican Party in 1994, with eight months remaining in his term.[ citation needed ]
Carl E. Moses, a businessman from Unalaska who had served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973 as both a Republican and Democrat, was elected again to the House in 1992, running under the AIP banner. He was elected to a district comprising mostly the area between the Aleutian Islands and Bristol Bay. He switched his party affiliation back to Democrat at around the same time that Hickel switched, and continued to serve in the House until 2007.[ citation needed ]
The party did not get involved in presidential elections until 1992, when it endorsed Howard Phillips, the candidate of the U.S. Taxpayers Party (now the Constitution Party).[ citation needed ]
Mark Chryson, the former Chair of the AIP, in 2008 said that "the Confederate states [should] have been allowed to separate and go their peaceful ways...The War of Northern Aggression, or the Civil War, or the War Between the States -- however you want to refer to it -- was not about slavery, it was about states' rights." [7]
The chairmanship of the AIP came to Lynette Clark about 2004. Also joining around 2001 was prolife activist and conservative public school teacher Bob Bird, who was a Pat Buchanan delegate at the 1996 GOP convention. Bird had run against Ted Stevens in the 1990 primary, when he first met Vogler. Bird's strong showing against Stevens, coupled with his friendship with one of statehood founders Jack Coghill, encouraged Hickel and Coghill to join the AIP.
Bird assumed the role of Acting Chairman until he was confirmed at a Wasilla convention that fall, and continued as chairman at the Kenai convention in 2022.
The Alaskan Independence Party sued the state of Alaska in 2020, seeking to overturn the results from a referendum where ranked-choice voting was implemented in Alaska's general elections. [8]
The AIP has embraced a "traditional family" message in the 21st-century. [7] Chryson said the AIP is "for the traditional family -- daddy, mommy, kids." [7] The party opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage. [7]
In 2006, members of the AIP collected the one hundred signatures needed to place on the fall ballot an initiative calling for Alaska to secede from the union or, if that was found not to be legally possible, directing the state to work to make secession legal. However, in the case of Kohlhaas v. State [9] the Alaska State Supreme Court ruled any attempt at secession to be unconstitutional and the initiative was not approved to appear on the fall ballot. [10]
In May 2009, the party had 13,119 registered members. As of May 2021, a press release on the AIP website indicates that the number of registered members has grown to nearly 19,000, making it the state's third largest party and about a quarter the size of the state's Democratic party (Republicans had 124,892 members and the Democrats had 75,047). [11]
On September 2, 2008, the Alaska Division of Elections had records that Todd Palin, husband of Governor Sarah Palin (a Republican and vice-presidential candidate), had registered as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party in 1995. He remained registered with the party until 2002. [12] David Niewert and Max Blumenthal wrote in Salon about the third party's influence in gaining election of Sarah Palin as mayor of Wasilla in her first political office. [13]
Alaskan Independence Party Presidential Tickets | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Nominee | Running Mate | # Votes | % Votes | Place | Notes | ||
1992 | Howard Phillips | Albion Knight | 377 | 0.2 / 100 | 8th | [14] | ||
2004 | Michael Peroutka | Chuck Baldwin | 2,092 | 0.7 / 100 | 4th | |||
2008 | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 1,660 | 0.5 / 100 | 4th |
Alaskan Independence Party U.S. Senate Nominees | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Nominee | # Votes | % Votes | Place | Notes | ||
2002 | Jim Dore | 6,724 | 2.9 / 100 | 4th | [15] | ||
2004 | Jerry Sanders | 3,785 | 1.2 / 100 | 4th | [16] | ||
2008 | Bob Bird | 13,197 | 4.2 / 100 | 3rd | [17] | ||
2020 | John Wayne Howe | 16,806 | 4.7 / 100 | 3rd | [18] | ||
2022 (primary) | Joe Stephens | 799 | 0.4 / 100 | 11th | [19] | ||
Dustin Darden | 646 | 0.3 / 100 | 13th | [20] |
Alaskan Independence Party U.S. House Nominees | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Nominee | # Votes | % Votes | Place | Notes | ||
1992 | Michael States | 15,049 | 6.3 / 100 | 3rd | [21] | ||
1996 | William Nemec II | 5,017 | 2.2 / 100 | 3rd | [22] | ||
2000 | Jim Dore | 10,085 | 3.7 / 100 | 4th | [23] | ||
2008 | Don Wright | 14,274 | 4.5 / 100 | 3rd | [24] | ||
2022 (special) (primary) | John Wayne Howe | 380 | 0.2 / 100 | 16th | [25] | ||
2024 (primary) | John Wayne Howe | 621 | 0.6 / 100 | 5th | [26] | ||
2024 (general) | John Wayne Howe | 13,010 | 3.9 / 100 | 3rd | [27] |
Alaskan Independence Party Gubernatorial Tickets | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Nominee | Running Mate | # Votes | % Votes | Place | Notes | ||
1974 | Joe Vogler | Wayne Peppler | 4,770 | 5.0 / 100 | 3rd | [28] | ||
1978 | Don Wright | Joe Vogler | 2,463 | 1.9 / 100 | 5th | [29] | ||
1982 | Joe Vogler | Roger Dee Roberts | 3,235 | 1.7 / 100 | 4th | [30] | ||
1986 | Joe Vogler | Al Rowe | 10,013 | 5.6 / 100 | 3rd | [31] | ||
1990 | Wally Hickel | Jack Coghill | 75,721 | 38.9 / 100 | 1st | [32] | ||
1994 | Jack Coghill | Margaret Ward | 27,838 | 13.0 / 100 | 3rd | [33] | ||
1998 | Sylvia Sullivan | None | 4,238 | 1.9 / 100 | 6th | [34] | ||
2002 | Don Wright | Daniel DeNardo | 2,185 | 0.9 / 100 | 4th | [35] | ||
2006 | Don Wright | Doug Welton | 1,285 | 0.5 / 100 | 4th | [36] | ||
2010 | Don Wright | None | 4,775 | 1.9 / 100 | 3rd | [37] | ||
2022 (primary) | John Wayne Howe | Shellie Wyatt | 1,696 | 0.9 / 100 | 6th | [38] |
Alaskan Independence Party State Legislative Tickets | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | District | Nominee | # Votes | % Votes | Place | Notes | ||
1988 | HD 24 | Ernest Holmberg | 1,393 | 44.9 / 100 | 2nd | [39] | ||
1992 | SD T | William Kristovich | 3,467 | 45.5 / 100 | 2nd | [40] | ||
1992 | HD 40 | Carl E. Moses | 1,829 | 53.1 / 100 | 1st | [41] | ||
2004 | HD 17 | Nick Begich Jr. | 2,965 | 35.9 / 100 | 2nd | [42] | ||
2022 | HD 39 | Tyler L. Ivanoff | 1,766 | 48.4 / 100 | 2nd | [43] | ||
2024 | HD 39 | Tyler L. Ivanoff | 1,670 | 41.6 / 100 | 2nd | [44] |
For other AKIP candidates who earned more than 5.0% of the vote in state legislative races, see List of third-party and independent performances in Alaska state legislative elections.
Notable past party officials include:
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994, as well as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II, Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development, building residential subdivisions, shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett, was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, in Congress from 1945 to 1959 as a Delegate, and from 1959 until his death in 1968 as a U.S. senator. He was opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, along with his fellow Senator Ernest Gruening, and also worked to warn people about the dangers of radiation. Many acts bear his name, including a major law known as the Bartlett Act, mandating handicap access in all federally-funded buildings.
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again for governor in 2006. In September 2008, Knowles became president of the National Energy Policy Institute, a non-profit energy policy organization funded by billionaire George Kaiser's family foundation, and located at the University of Tulsa. As of 2024, Knowles is the most recent Governor of Alaska from the Democratic Party.
John Bruce "Jack" Coghill was an American politician and businessman who was the sixth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1990 to 1994, serving under Governor Walter Hickel. Both were members of the Alaskan Independence Party.
Joseph E. Vogler was an american politician and the founder of the Alaskan Independence Party.
The lieutenant governor of Alaska is the deputy elected official to the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unlike most lieutenant governors in the U.S., the office also maintains the duties of a secretary of state, and indeed was named such until August 25, 1970. Prior to statehood, the territorial-era Secretary of Alaska, who was appointed by the president of the United States like the governor, functioned as an acting governor or successor-in-waiting. Currently, the lieutenant governor accedes to the governorship in case of a vacancy. The lieutenant governor runs together with the governor in both the primary and the general election as a slate.
Sean Randall Parnell is an American attorney and politician who was the tenth governor of Alaska from 2009 to 2014. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009, and was elected governor in his own right in 2010 with 59.06% of the vote, as the largest percentage margin of any Alaska governor since the state's admission into the United States. In 2014, he narrowly lost his bid for re-election and returned to work in the private sector. He is a member of the Republican Party.
This is a list detailing the electoral history of the Libertarian Party in the United States, sorted by office. The list currently consists of candidates who ran for partisan office.
On November 8, 1994, gubernatorial elections were held in 36 states and two territories across the United States. Many seats held by Democratic governors switched to the Republicans during the time known as the Republican Revolution. Notably, this marked the first time since 1969 that Republicans secured the majority of governorships in an election cycle.
The 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the state of Alaska in the United States House of Representatives. Alaska has one seat in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; whoever was elected would serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the nationwide presidential election. The primary election was held August 26, 2008.
Bob Bird is an American conservative activist, retired high school teacher, home-school tutor and the former chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP). He was the AIP's candidate for the United States Senate seat formerly occupied by Ted Stevens in the 2008 senate election.
The 1994 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Alaska, United States. Democratic candidate Tony Knowles narrowly defeated Republican candidate Jim Campbell and Lieutenant Governor Jack Coghill of the Alaskan Independence Party. In the Republican Revolution year of the 1994 elections, Alaska's was the only governor's seat in the country to switch from Republican to Democratic.
The 2010 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Former Governor Sarah Palin did not run, having resigned in July 2009. Incumbent Governor Sean Parnell, who as lieutenant governor succeeded Palin following her resignation, announced that he would seek a full term.
The 1990 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the open seat of Governor of Alaska. In 1989, incumbent governor Steve Cowper, a Democrat, had announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term.
Carl Eugene Moses was an American businessman from Unalaska, Alaska who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973 as both a Republican and Democrat, and was elected again to the House in 1992 running on the Alaskan Independence Party ticket, later switched back to the Democrats, and served until 2007. Moses served a total of eleven full terms in the Alaska House, making him the longest-serving member in the history of that body. In the 2006 primary election, Moses was defeated for renomination by Bryce Edgmon, losing via a coin toss after the election results wound up in court and were later certified by the state of Alaska as ending in a tie vote.
Jane Arliss Sturgulewski was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she represented Anchorage in the Alaska Senate from 1979 to 1993. Twice during off-years in re-election to her four-year Senate term, she won the Republican nomination for governor of Alaska against mostly conservative opposition in blanket primaries. The second time, in 1990, she came out in third place behind Walter Hickel and runner up Tony Knowles, which was the second of three times in Alaska's history a major-party nominee placed third. She won a 2000 Anchorage Athena award.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Alaska took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Alaska, concurrently with the election of the governor of Alaska, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1978 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, for the post of governor of Alaska. Republican incumbent Jay Hammond defeated four opponents: former Governor of Alaska and write-in candidate Wally Hickel, Alaska Senator and Democratic nominee Chancy Croft, former Commissioner of Natural Resources and Independent candidate Tom Kelly and Alaskan Independence Party nominee Don Wright. After losing to Hammond in the Republican primary, Hickel ran as a write-in candidate and was able to outperform Croft. Republican Tom Fink and Democrat Jay Kerttula also ran in the open primary.
The November 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives to represent the state of Alaska. Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola won reelection to a full term in office, defeating Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III and Libertarian Chris Bye in the runoff count.
The 2022 Alaska at-large congressional district special election was held on August 16 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Republican incumbent Don Young. Mary Peltola was elected in a 3-way race against former governor Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III in the election, becoming the first Alaska Native and woman to represent Alaska in the House.
(This is the first official reference to the party. The pamphlet contained, amongst other information on Alaska elections in 1974, a party platform and biographical profiles of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor Joe Vogler and Wayne Peppler.)