Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the Bering Strait, with Russia's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south. Technically, it is a semi-exclave of the U.S., and is the largest exclave in the world.
Juneau, officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of what was then the District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. On July 1, 1970, the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current consolidated city-borough, which ranks as the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is larger than either Rhode Island or Delaware.
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the current CCHA recognizes as part of its history, existed from 1971 to 2013. Four of its nine members are located in the state of Michigan, with three in Minnesota and one each in Ohio and South Dakota. It has also had teams located in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska over the course of its existence.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.
The 86th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1961, during the last two years of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee under U.S. Senator John McCain.
The number of elections in Alaska varies by year, but typically municipal elections occur every year, plus primary and general elections for federal and state offices occur during even-numbered years. Alaska has a gubernatorial election every four years. Members of the state's United States congressional delegation run for election or re-election at the times set out in the United States Constitution. Primary elections assist in choosing political parties' nominees for various positions. On a regional basis, elections also cover municipal issues. In addition, a special election can occur at any time.
On March 4, 2008, Senator John McCain of Arizona won the 2008 nomination by the Republican Party for President of the United States, and became the presumptive nominee of the party. McCain held an event with Alaska governor Sarah Palin, revealing her as his vice presidential running mate on August 29, 2008, a date which coincided both with McCain's 72nd birthday and the Palins' 20th wedding anniversary, at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, the day after Barack Obama's acceptance speech. If elected, she would have been the first vice president from Alaska and outside the mainland United States, and the first female vice president, but the feat would later be accomplished by Kamala Harris in 2020. The McCain–Palin ticket ultimately lost to the Obama–Biden ticket in the 2008 presidential election, and Palin returned to the governorship following the campaign but later resigned the following year.
William A. Thomas Jr. is a businessman, commercial fisherman, and politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. Thomas served as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 5th District, comprising scattered rural and semi-rural communities throughout Southeast Alaska and stretching westward to Prince William Sound, from 2005 to 2013. Thomas served in the majority his entire tenure in the House and held multiple chairmanships. Thomas gained a seat on the powerful House Finance Committee during his second term and would eventually co-chair the committee. Following redistricting, Thomas lost reelection in 2012 by 32 votes to 23-year-old Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a political newcomer who left Yale University to run.
Daniel Scott Sullivan is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Alaska since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Sullivan previously served as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 to 2013, and as the Alaska Attorney General from 2009 to 2010.
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 2012 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Alaska voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
Marvel Crosson was a pioneer aviator, and the first female pilot to earn a commercial license in the Territory of Alaska. She worked in both California and Alaska and died in a crash during the first Women's Air Derby. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2011.
Pete B. Higgins is an American dentist and politician. Higgins was a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015, representing District 5.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Alaska, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, 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.
Ermalee Hickel was an American public figure and philanthropist who served as the second and seventh First Lady of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and again from 1990 to 1994. She was the wife of the former Governor of Alaska Wally Hickel and one of the last members of Alaska's generation of pioneer political families.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. Alaska voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. The Libertarian, Green, Constitution, and Alliance Party nominees were also on the ballot, as was an Independent candidate.
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.
