2004 United States Senate election in Alaska

2004 United States Senate election in Alaska
	Results by borough and census area; Murkowski: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Knowles: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Lisa Murkowski; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Lisa Murkowski; Republican

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. As of 2022, Lisa Murkowski’s vote total of 149,773 votes remains the most raw votes she has ever received during any of her runs for the US Senate. This victory made Lisa Murkowski the first woman ever elected in the Congress from the state of Alaska.

Background

Although Alaska is heavily Republican, popular opinion had swung against the Murkowski family because of a tax increase passed by Governor Frank Murkowski, Lisa Murkowski's father. In addition, many voters disapproved of apparent nepotism in the appointment of Lisa Murkowski to the Senate. Knowles, who as mentioned above preceded Frank Murkowski as governor, had enlisted extensive out-of-state support for his bid to take over Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat. However, veteran Republican Senator Ted Stevens taped advertisements warning Alaskans that electing a Democrat could result in fewer federal dollars for Alaska.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Tony Knowles, businessman, former governor and former mayor of Anchorage
Theresa Obermeyer, former Anchorage school board member and 1996 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee
Don Wright, former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and perennial candidate

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tony Knowles	40,881	95.0%
	Democratic	Don Wright	1,080	2.5%
	Democratic	Theresa Obermeyer	1,045	2.4%
Total votes			43,006	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Jim Dore, aviation mechanic
Mike W. Miller, businessman, former state senator, former state representative, nominee for lieutenant governor in 1994 and younger brother of Terry Miller
Lisa Murkowski, incumbent U.S. Senator since 2002, formerly an Anchorage lawyer and member of the Alaska House
Wev Shea, former U.S. Attorney for Alaska

Results

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lisa Murkowski (incumbent)	45,710	58.1%
	Republican	Mike Miller	29,313	37.3%
	Republican	Wev Shea	2,857	3.6%
	Republican	Jim Dore	748	0.9%
Total votes			78,628	100.0%

General election

Candidates

Major

Tony Knowles, former governor
Lisa Murkowski (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Minor

Ted Gianoutsos (I), lobbyist and activist on ANWR and veterans issues
Scott Kohlhaas (L), party activist and perennial candidate
Marc Millican (I), aviator, U.S. Air Force veteran
Jerry Sanders (AI), businessman, former state representative
Jim Sykes (G), party activist and perennial candidate

Campaign

Lisa Murkowski had very low approval ratings as senator due to her father, Frank Murkowski, who at the time was the governor of Alaska with extremely low approval ratings himself. Former governor Tony Knowles ran against Murkowski. He ran as a Democrat who supported drilling in ANWR, in contrast to most Democrats. Alaska's senior senator, Ted Stevens, worked to rescue her campaign and help her maintain her seat.^[2]

Debates

Complete video of debate, October 26, 2004
Complete video of debate, October 28, 2004

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[3]	Lean D (flip)	November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source^[4]	Dates administered	Murkowski (R)	Knowles (D)
KTUU	October 4, 2004	45%	48%
KTUU	October 18, 2004	45%	47%
McLaughlin	October 28, 2004	48%	43%

Results

2004 United States Senate election in Alaska^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lisa Murkowski (incumbent)	149,773	48.58%	−25.91%
	Democratic	Tony Knowles	140,424	45.55%	+25.82%
	Independent	Marc J. Millican	8,885	2.88%
	Independence	Jerry Sanders	3,785	1.23%
	Green	Jim Sykes	3,053	0.99%	2.22%
	Libertarian	Scott A. Kohlhaas	1,240	0.40%	−1.87%
	Independent	Ted Gianoutsas	732	0.24%
	Write-ins		423	0.14%
Majority			9,349	3.03%	−51.74%
Turnout			308,315
	Republican hold		Swing

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Aleutians West Census Area (largest city: Unalaska)
Bethel Census Area (largest city: Bethel)
Kusilvak Census Area (largest city: Hooper Bay)
Nome Census Area (largest city: Nome)
Dilingham Census Area (largest city: Dilingham)
Lake & Peninsula Borough (largest city: Newhalen)
North Slope Borough (largest city: Utqiaġvik)
Northwest Arctic Borough (largest city: Kotzebue)
Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area (largest city: Craig)
Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (largest city: Fort Yukon)
Juneau
Sitka
Hoonah–Angoon Census Area (largest town: Hoonah)
Yakutat
Petersburg
Skagway
Ketchikan Gateway Borough (largest city: Ketchikan)
Bristol Bay Borough (largest city: Naknek)

Notes

^ In December 2002, Murkowski was appointed by Governor Frank Murkowski (her father) to fill the vacancy caused by Frank Murkowski himself resigning after being sworn in as Governor of Alaska.

References

^ ^a ^b "2004 Primary Election - August 24, 2004 Official Results". State of Alaska. September 14, 2004. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.
^ Hulse, Carl (October 31, 2004). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: CONTROL OF CONGRESS; Races for House and Senate Have Been Nasty, Expensive and Focused on Local Issues". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
^ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ "Polls". RealClear Politics. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

[1] In December 2002, Murkowski was appointed by Governor Frank Murkowski (her father) to fill the vacancy caused by Frank Murkowski himself resigning after being sworn in as Governor of Alaska.

[alaska1-2] "2004 Primary Election - August 24, 2004 Official Results". State of Alaska. September 14, 2004. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.

[3] Hulse, Carl (October 31, 2004). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: CONTROL OF CONGRESS; Races for House and Senate Have Been Nasty, Expensive and Focused on Local Issues". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2010.

[4] "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[5] "Polls". RealClear Politics. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.

[6] Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

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Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Campaign

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

References