Alaska

ANALYSIS: Alaska’s post-election review – what does it mean?

Published

6 months ago

November 12, 2024

ANALYSIS: Alaska’s post-election review – what does it mean?

Two weeks ago, I published my predictions for the 2024 general election. You can find them here. It is time to review the actual election results and see where I was right and where I got it wrong.

1 – I predicted Donald Trump would win Alaska’s three electoral college votes and it wouldn’t be close. I was right. Based on the most recent unofficial results with 401 of 403 precincts reporting, Trump won by 55.5% to 40.43%. This prediction really wasn’t much of a stretch. Trump won Alaska the last two times he ran for president.

2 – I predicted Nick Begich would defeat Mary Peltola, but it would be a close election and, in a reverse RCV twist, Peltola could lose in an RCV runoff because of the campaign of a Democrat carpetbagger who lives outside the state, by the name of Eric Hafner.

My prediction was remarkably accurate. Begich beat Peltola by 49.45% to 45.45%. Although Begich is leading by a 4% margin, he failed to get the 50% +1 vote required by the crazy RCV system we use in this state. So, this race will go to an RCV automatic runoff.

Democrat Erich Hafner received almost 1% of the votes, which would have been enough to give Begich the race outright. Begich should easily win this contest, but whenever RCV comes into the picture, weird things can happen. Yet another reason to hate RCV, more on that later.

3 – I predicted Sarah Vance would win the State House District 6 race, but it would go to an RCV runoff because RCV permitted the continued participation of Republican Dawson Slaughter from Anchor Point. I was right on both accounts

Sarah Vance did win, but not with enough votes to win outright. This race will also go to an automatic RCV runoff. Vance should prevail in the runoff as she leads Brent Johnson by 47.69% to 42.85%, almost 5%. Dawson Slaughter received 9.26% of the votes. Most of his votes should go to Vance.

The voters have sent a message, let’s see if the politicians have heard it.

Slaughter’s continued participation in this race denied Sarah Vance an outright victory. Somebody in the GOP ought to pull Slaughter aside and explain to him how politics works. Slaughter just torpedoed his political career in the GOP. Republicans have long memories and many of them will hold a grudge against Slaughter if he runs in any future election. Vance should prevail in the RCV runoff, but the biggest loser in this race is not Brent Johnson, it is Dawson Slaughter’s political future.

4 – I predicted Ballot measure 1, which raises the minimum wage would pass, and voters would come to regret it. This issue was passed by a wide margin by voters believing they are voting for their own pay raise. They don’t realize that as employees become more expensive, employers find ways to work without them, like using more automation.

I was right on the first part of this prediction, and only time will tell if higher minimum wages results in fewer minimum wage workers in Alaska, like it has in California after they passed a similar measure.

5 – I predicted Ballot Measure 2, repealing RCV would also pass. Alaskans hate this voting system that was foisted off on us by outside interest groups and dark money. The issue of RCV caught our state unaware in 2020 when it originally and only barely passed, supported by large amounts of money from groups outside of our state. When Mary Peltola’s first election victory in 2022 occurred, it woke all Alaskans up to the flaws in the RCV system. Fortunately, because Ballot Measure 2 has passed repealing RCV, we will not have this fraudulent voting system in future elections. This should be a lesson for other states considering similar measures.

So, if I was right on these issues, where did I get it wrong? The only thing I missed was my prediction of high voter turnout. I predicted a high turnout in a presidential election year that would be in the high 60% range, approaching 70%. The actual turnout in House District 6 was only 50.12%.

In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, voter turnout in District 6 was 66.47% and 69.19%, respectively. How could we underperform by this wide of a margin in a very polarizing election year that should have meant more interest in the election? I believe that many voters were intimidated by the RCV process and didn’t vote. They chose not to participate because they were confused by how to vote and didn’t want to get it wrong. If this is correct, it is a big indictment of the confusing RCV process and future elections should see a big increase in participation.

I went 5 out of 6 in my predictions, but what does it all mean? There were decisive Republican victories both statewide and nationally. This election was a repudiation of Democrats and Democrat policies. Everyday Americans turned out in record numbers and rejected the woke ideology that the Democrats have based their governance on for the past four years.

Americans don’t want the weird policies that Democrats are trying to force on the country. They don’t want to be forced to take experimental injections in order to keep their jobs. They don’t want boys playing girls sports. They don’t want runaway inflation just because politicians in Washington and Juneau want to reward their political allies with never ending deficit spending.

This election was a massive repudiation of the Democrats, and they need to wake up to the fact that their policies and their party are not wanted by the vast majority of Americans. The voters have sent a message, let’s see if the politicians have heard it.

The views expressed here are those of Greg Sarber. Read more Sarber posts at his Seward’s Folly substack.

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Alaska

Alaska Military Youth Academy cadets visit AKNS studio

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2025

Press Room

Alaska Military Youth Academy cadets visit AKNS studio

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Military Youth Academy cadets recently visited the Alaska’s News Source newsroom to learn more about careers in media.

Daylin Alston, 17, said he was surprised to see how many moving parts are involved in building a newscast.

“I learned about how news stations work, how they operate, all the buttons, all the cameras. I didn’t know it was this big,” he explained. “It’s a big process.”

Cadets had the opportunity to visit with on-air talent and get a closer look at what happens behind the scenes.

“At first, I just thought you had to be able to talk in front of a camera and all that stuff,” 16-year-old Qmia Taala said. “I feel like maybe if I wanted to be working in this kind of industry that I would have more of a chance because I could work somewhere in the background with helping out.”

These AMYA cadets are looking forward to their upcoming graduation ceremony on June 12.

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Alaska

Historians highlight Alaska’s historic properties during National Historic Preservation Month

Published

21 hours ago

May 14, 2025

Press Room

Historians highlight Alaska’s historic properties during National Historic Preservation Month

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – May is National Historic Preservation Month, and historians across Alaska are asking for increased awareness of Alaska’s historic buildings.

According to Historic Preservation Architect Sam Combs, the art of historic preservation is important, not only for the significance of protecting local history, but it also draws tourists to the city.

“You come to a city not to see the new shiny skyscrapers and buildings, you come to see the history of the town,” Combs said.

One example Combs points to is the Oscar Anderson House near downtown Anchorage.

“This was reputedly the first frame house in Anchorage; there have been log cabins and other structures, but this was the first frame house,” Combs explained.

The property has been perfectly captured in time; there are period-appropriate items spread throughout the house for visitors to see, and the wallpaper has been renovated to be the original that was there when the house was first built.

“I took home layers of wallpaper and then put them in our bathtubs, separated them, and that’s how we determined which was the earliest wallpaper and freezes around the building,” Combs said, explaining the process he used to nail down the earliest wallpaper in the home.

There have been some upgrades to the home, but none that directly interfere with the effort to preserve the building in time.

“This floor was like a trampoline, it had, I think, 2×4’s spanning 17 feet, so it was a little bouncy, so we reinforced that,” Combs explained. “This fireplace was totally dismayed, demolished because it had been damaged in an earthquake earlier, and so I did restoration drawings from photographs.”

The biggest change to the property is the location itself.

“It was originally across the road here where those that apartment building is right now, and then it got moved because they wanted to build out there,” Combs said.

Because it is National Historic Preservation Month, Combs says there is an easy way for you to get involved in preserving Alaska’s great history.

“If you’ve got a historic house in town, let us know, we can help out. We do, you know, grant small amounts of grants to help with planning and to preserve the building or structure,” Combs said.

If you don’t have a historic property, then Combs suggested the next best way you can support historic preservation is by visiting historic properties around the state.

If you have a historic property, you can reach out to the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation through its website.

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Alaska

Alaska Airlines plans new long-haul experience, retrofits for Hawaiian's Airbus A330s – The Points Guy

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Press Room

Alaska Airlines plans new long-haul experience, retrofits for Hawaiian's Airbus A330s – The Points Guy

Fresh off its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines last year, Alaska Airlines is gearing up to announce a “beautiful new international experience” — likely on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliners Hawaiian ordered before the two carriers merged.

The reveal is expected later this year, executives said Monday, moments before Alaska and Hawaiian jointly launched their first long-haul flight to Asia.

The new flagship international Dreamliner experience would presumably include an all-new business-class product and serve as the linchpin of the carrier’s future international growth plans out of its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) home base — plans that include flights to Europe starting next year.

“What you’ll see is all the flights — international flights — out of Seattle, on 787s … and it’ll be operated by Alaska,” CEO Ben Minicucci told TPG in an interview Monday. “It’ll be a fantastic new international look.”

That’s noteworthy not just because of the prospects of a flashy new international cabin experience on a major U.S. airline, but also because it would be Alaska’s first true wide-body service. After all, it’s Hawaiian Airlines that’s operating the just-launched service from Seattle to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT), as Alaska and Hawaiian maintain separate brands under one corporate structure postmerger.

But gaining access to Hawaiian’s larger twin-aisle jets — and the Dreamliners it’s had on order for several years — was one of the factors that proved enticing for Alaska when it first sought to acquire the Aloha State’s home carrier starting in 2023.

Now, to be clear: It’ll be a little while before passengers see this new international Dreamliner product hit the skies. These planned 787 shifts are contingent on the completion of labor deals, Minicucci said, which could take a year or two.

Hawaiian had plans to receive a total of a dozen Dreamliners. It debuted its first 787 last spring, with a stunning new interior and serious upgrade over its legacy long-haul fleet.

A330 retrofits coming

Alaska Air Group is also planning an eventual face-lift for the older jets in Hawaiian’s fleet, Minicucci told TPG on Monday.

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The company sees Hawaiian’s Airbus A330s as a continued “niche” in its fleet on Honolulu routes for years to come. But, as I saw on board the Hawaiian-operated inaugural from Seattle to Tokyo, the cabins could use some tender loving care, aside from the free, high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi on board.

Indeed, retrofits for those jets are on Minicucci’s to-do list: “Those interiors,” he said, “will get a makeover in the next few years.” Snarled industry supply chains for seats could throw that timeline into jeopardy, though, he noted.

New loyalty program set for August debut

Alaska also revealed one additional bit of news about the future of its new, joint loyalty program that will encompass both Alaska and Hawaiian. That program will launch in August, Minicucci told TPG.

That figures to be a closely watched reveal, considering Mileage Plan currently offers some of the best sweet spot redemptions of any U.S. airline loyalty program.

“We’re not going to take anything away,” Minicucci told me — though he couldn’t get into specifics.

I did have to ask: Will the program be called Mileage Plan, or get some sort of new name, a la “Flying Blue” for Air France and KLM, or “Bonvoy” for Marriott’s portfolio of hotels? Minicucci only offered this: “It’ll be uniquely branded with a whole bunch of new features on it.”

A far more significant development worth watching: what immediate decision, if any, the company makes on its relationship with American Express. At the moment, Amex members can transfer Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles, and then shift those miles seamlessly over to Mileage Plan. Earlier this month, I used that tactic to redeem 4,500 Alaska miles for what would have been a pricey last-minute flight.

Alaska executives have previously expressed hesitancy about allowing flexible currency transfers from credit card programs as they dreamed up this new joint loyalty program.

Bilt Rewards Points do currently transfer directly to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio.

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