Alaska Democratic Party

Alaska Democratic Party
Chairman	Patti Higgins
House leader	Beth Kerttula
Headquarters	Anchorage, Alaska
Ideology	American Liberalism Progressivism Center-left
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Official colors	Red, Blue
Website
www.alaskademocrats.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

The Alaska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage.

It is one of the two major parties in Alaska. Following the elections of 2008, Democrats hold no statewide executive offices. However, they do help comprise a coalition in the Alaska Senate which is the majority "party".

At the federal level, Democrats hold one of the U.S. Senate seats.

The state's most prominent Democrat is its junior U.S. Senator Mark Begich, the former Mayor of Anchorage who narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Ted Stevens in 2008. Other notable Democrats from Alaska include former Governor Tony Knowles and Ethan Berkowitz who almost defeated U.S. Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) in 2008.

Currently there are over 75,000 registered members of the Alaska Democratic Party.^[1]

History

Democrat Barack Obama received 37.89 percent of the total statewide vote in Alaska and lost the state to Republican John McCain in 2008, who selected former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.

No Democrat has carried Alaska in presidential elections since 1964 when Lyndon B. Johnson had his landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.

Party organization

Party leadership

The Executive Committee of the Alaska Democratic Party consists of the following individuals:^[2]

• State Chair - Patti Higgins
• Finance Chair - Rocky Plotnick
• Secretary - Carolyn Covington
• Treasurer - Nanci Jones
• Past State Chair - Jake Metcalfe
• National Committee Man - Ian Olson
• National Committee Woman - Cindy Spanyers
• Vice Chair (Anchorage)- Barbara Gazaway
• Vice Chair (Anchorage)- Rod McCoy
• Vice Chair (Kenai/Kodiak/Mat-Su)- Blake Johnson
• Vice Chair (Kenai/Kodiak/Mat-Su)- Katie Hurley
• Vice Chair (Interior)- Diane Fleeks
• Vice Chair (Interior)- Don Gray
• Vice Chair (Southeast)- Willie Anderson
• Vice Chair (Southeast)- Kathleen Menke
• Vice Chair (Rural)- Chuck Degnan
• Vice Chair (Rural)- Mary Weiss
• At Large - Dave Watts
• Senate Democratic Campaign Committee (SDCC) Co-Chair - Johnny Ellis
• House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC) Co-Chairs - Scott Kawasaki / Chris Tuck
• Young Democrats President - Liz Andres

Party functions

The Alaska Democratic Party performs many functions, all with the aim of helping Democrats to win elected office within the state.

These functions include:^[3]

• The organization and recruitment of citizens to go door to door for the party and promote the party issues and candidates.
• The coordination of state-wide campaigns for the general election every two years.
• Working to get articles into newspapers, letters to the editors written, and callers on talk radio stations.
• Operating the official Alaska Democratic Party website.
• Sending out email announcements to Democrats regarding party activities.
• Operating a state Voter File.

Ideology

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Current issues

With the upcoming presidential election in 2012, the Alaska Democratic Party is seeking delegates for the 2012 Democratic National Convention to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[4]

See also

Alaska portal

• Political party strength in Alaska

References

External links

• Official website

v t e Alaska political parties With ballot status Alaskan Independence Democratic Libertarian Republican Without ballot status Constitution Green Veterans Defunct Republican Moderate Political party strength in Alaska