Frank Hughes Murkowski is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party,he served as a United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006.
Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator representing Alaska,having held that seat since 2002. She is the first woman to represent Alaska in the Senate and the Senate's second-most senior Republican woman,after Susan Collins of Maine. She became dean of Alaska's Congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.
The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2,2004,with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House election,as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998,known as Senate Class 3,were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Gary Peters of Michigan,who succeeded Nevada‘s Catherine Cortez Masto after the 2020 Senate elections. DSCC's current executive director is Christie Roberts.
The 1986 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 4,in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term,the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats,defeating seven freshman incumbents,picking up two Republican-held open seats,and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. This remains the most recent midterm election in which the sitting president's party suffered net losses while still flipping a Senate seat.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4,coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates,allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3,with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats,while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each,and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
In U.S. politics,a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events,known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent in the United States,as traditionally political parties support incumbents,both for party unity and to minimize the possibility of losing the seat to an opposing party. In addition,officeholders are frequently seen as de facto leaders of their party,eligible to establish policy and administer affairs as they see fit. A primary challenge thus interferes with this "spoil of office," and is largely discouraged. Though typically used to describe challenges to elected officials,the term is also applied to officeholders such as appointed U.S. senators.
The Alaska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Alaska,headquartered in Anchorage.
The 1998 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 3,1998. The election resulted in a landslide for the Democratic incumbent,Tony Knowles,who had won the 1994 gubernatorial election by only 536 votes. Jim Sykes,founder of the Green Party of Alaska,ran on that party's ticket,but Desa Jacobsson later replaced him on the ballot.
The Alaska Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Alaska,headquartered in Anchorage.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4,2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and former President pro tempore Ted Stevens ran for re-election for an eighth term in the United States Senate. It was one of the ten Senate races that U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada,the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee,predicted as being most competitive. The primaries were held on August 26,2008. Stevens was challenged by Democratic candidate Mark Begich,the mayor of Anchorage and son of former U.S. Representative Nick Begich.
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.
Although in its early years of statehood,Alaska was a Democratic state,since the early 1970s it has been characterized as Republican-leaning. Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development,fishing,tourism,and individual rights. Alaska Natives,while organized in and around their communities,have been active within the Native corporations. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land,which require stewardship. The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States,with the Alaskan Independence Party,but its membership has shrunk in recent decades.
The 2002 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 5,2002,for the post of Governor of Alaska. Republican U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer. Murkowski became the first Republican elected governor of Alaska since Jay Hammond in 1978.
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.
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.
The 2022 United States Senate elections were held on November 8,2022,concurrently with the midterm elections at the federal,state and local level,including the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections. Regularly scheduled elections were held for 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate,the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the U.S. Congress from January 3,2023,to January 3,2029,starting with the 118th United States Congress. One special election was also held to complete an unexpired term ending January 3,2027. While pundits considered the Republican Party a slight favorite to gain control of the Senate,the Democratic Party outperformed expectations and expanded the majority they had held since 2021.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 8,2022. Incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski won reelection to a fourth full term,defeating fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka and Democrat Patricia Chesbro.
The 2022 Alaska state elections took place on November 8,2022. The state also held Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA) elections on the first Tuesday in October.
