United States Senate election in Alaska, 2016

United States Senate election in Alaska, 2016

November 8, 2016

Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski Republican

The 2016 United States Senate election in Alaska will take place 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.

Incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is running for re-election to a third term in office against independent challenger Margaret Stock.^[1] The primaries will be held on August 16.^[2]

Background

After Republican U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski was elected Governor of Alaska in 2002, he appointed his daughter Lisa to the Senate to replace him. She was elected to a full term in 2004 but was defeated in the Republican primary in 2010 by Tea Party challenger Joe Miller.^[3] She ran as a write-in candidate in the general election and was re-elected to a second full term with 39.5% of the vote to Miller's 35.5% and Democratic nominee Scott McAdams' 23.5%.^[4][5] She is one of only two U.S. Senators to be elected via write-in votes, the other being Strom Thurmond in 1954.^[6]

Republican primary

As Murkowski was defeated in the Republican primary in 2010, it has been speculated that she will be challenged from the right again in 2016.^[7][8]

Candidates

Declared

• Thomas Lamb, candidate for State House in 2006^[9][10]
• Bob Lochner, mechanic and State House candidate in 1996^[9][11]
• Lisa Murkowski, incumbent Senator^[2]

Potential

• David Cuddy, former State Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2008^[12]
• Joe Miller, former magistrate judge, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014^[13][14][15]
• Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2008^[16][17]
• Dan Sullivan, former Mayor of Anchorage and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2014^[18]
• Mead Treadwell, former Lieutenant Governor and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014^[14]

Declined

• Mike J. Dunleavy, State Senator^[14][19]
• Sean Parnell, former Governor of Alaska and candidate for Congress in 2008^[20]

Democratic-Libertarian-Independence primary

Candidates from the Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party appear on the same ballot, with the highest-placed candidate from each party receiving that party's nomination.

Democratic candidates

Potential

• Dennis Egan, State Senator and former Mayor of Juneau^[21]
• Johnny Ellis, State Senator^[21]
• Hollis French, former State Senator, former Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate and candidate for Governor of Alaska in 2010^[21]
• Andy Josephson, State Representative^[21]
• Bill Wielechowski, State Senator^[21]

Declined

• Mark Begich, former U.S. Senator^{[22][23][24][25]}

Libertarian candidates

Declared

• Cean Stevens, small business owner, Republican State House candidate in 2012 and Libertarian State House candidate in 2014^[9][26]

Third Party and Independent Candidates

Declared

• Ted Gianoutsos (Independent), founder of the Veterans Party of Alaska and perennial candidate^[27]
• Sid Hill (Independent), political gadfly^[27]
• Margaret Stock (Independent), attorney^[28]
• Bruce Walden (Veterans Party), retired Army Sergeant and 2006 Republican State House candidate^[27][29][30]
• Jed Whittaker (Independent), commercial fisherman, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 1992 and Green Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 1996^[27][31]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[32]	Likely R	March 25, 2016
Daily Kos[33]	Safe R	April 4, 2016
Roll Call[34]	Safe R	April 4, 2016
Sabato's Crystal Ball[35]	Safe R	March 21, 2016

References

1. Erica Martinson (6 Mar 2016). "Murkowski mines energy industry for major campaign funds". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved 8 March 2016. Murkowski’s main challenger, Stock, is running as an independent
2. "Lisa Murkowski announces that she’s running in 2016". AmandaCoyne.com. October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
3. Sean Cockerham (August 31, 2010). "It's another Tea Party win as Alaska's Murkowski concedes". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
4. Bohrer, Becky (September 18, 2010). "Murkowski mounting write-in bid for Alaska Senate". Associated Press. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
5. McCormick, John (September 18, 2010). "Murkowski Says She Will Run as Write-In Candidate in Senate Race in Alaska". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
6. "Murkowski triumphs in Alaska Senate race: Alaska's Murkowski appears to be first write-in candidate to win Senate since 1954". The Seattle Times. November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
7. "Senate Democrats look to next elections". The Hill. March 27, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
8. "Republicans Will Need to Sweep to Hold Onto Senate Majority in 2016". National Journal. September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
9. "August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List". State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
10. Garcia, Eric (January 27, 2016). "Will Pro-LGBT Stances Hurt GOP Senators?". Roll Call. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
11. Reynolds, Casey (February 5, 2016). "Friday in the Sun!!! (Feb 5)". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
12. Reynolds, Casey (April 8, 2016). "Friday in the Sun!!! (April 8)". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
13. Joseph, Cameron (December 28, 2014). "10 senators who could lose in 2016". The Hill. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
14. Pathé, Simone (May 15, 2015). "Murkowski Facing a Primary Puzzle". Roll Call. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
15. Quinn, Catie (January 6, 2016). "Joe Miller Mulling Senate Bid, “Not Seriously”". Radio Kenai. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
16. Reynolds, Casey (January 1, 2016). "Friday in the Sun!!!! (Jan 1)". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
17. Goddard, Taegan (January 3, 2016). "Palin Hints at Possible Senate Bid". Political Wire. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
18. Reynolds, Casey (September 23, 2015). "Lisa Murkowski (Part 2 of 2) Re-Election Battleground". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
19. Manning, Phillip (January 5, 2016). "Sen. Dunleavey won’t challenge Murkowski after all". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
20. Herz, Nathaniel (August 22, 2015). "With big campaign war chest, Murkowski forges toward 2016". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
21. Trygstad, Kyle (February 13, 2013). "Farm Team: Absence of Opportunity Means Long Alaska Pipeline". Roll Call. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
22. "Losing Democrats Already Being Touted for 2016 Comebacks". National Journal. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
23. Joseph, Cameron (February 5, 2015). "Senate Democratic campaign chairman: Majority or bust in 2016". The Hill. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
24. Sullivan, Sean (February 2, 2015). "Why Mark Begich could run for the Senate again". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
25. Bohrer, Becky (February 16, 2016). "Former Sen. Begich says he won't run for any office this year". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
26. Reynolds, Casey (February 26, 2016). "Friday in the Sun! (Feb 26)". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
27. "November 8, 2016 General Election Candidate List". State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
28. Kelly, Devin (February 17, 2016). "Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock challenging Lisa Murkowski for Senate". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
29. "Veterans Party of America Nominates Bruce Walden for Alaskan State Senate". PR.com. September 12, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
30. "Veterans Party Scores Election Win, Readies for 2016". Independent Political Report. November 23, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
31. Whittaker, Jed (January 11, 2016). "Letter: My candidacy is based on love, not contributions". Juneau Empire. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
32. "2016 Senate Race Ratings for March 25, 2016". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
33. "Election Outlook: 2016 Race Ratings". Daily Kos. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
34. "2016 Race Ratings". Roll Call. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
35. "2016 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 4, 2016.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Lisa Murkowski (R) for Senate
• Ted Gianoutsos (I) for Senate
• Thomas Lamb (R) for Senate
• Bob Lochner (R) for Senate
• Cean Stevens (L) for Senate
• Margaret Stock (I) for Senate