Alaska has been dominated by the Republican Party for decades, but a new survey from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows that Democrat Hillary Clinton would beat Republican Sarah Palin in a theoretical matchup in the deep red frontier state. According to the poll, 53 percent of Alaska voters would pick Clinton with just 37 percent picking Palin if both appeared on the presidential ballot in 2016. Clinton also beat Republican Marco Rubio by one point (44 percent to 43 percent), though she lost to Chris Christie by the same margin (42 percent to 43 percent).
The PPP illustrates the current strength of Clinton and the fall of Palin since 2008.
Alaska has not voted for Democratic candidate since 1964. In 2012 Mitt Romney won the state by 14 percent over President Obama even though Obama won the national popular vote by over 3 percent. A Gallup poll taken in February of 2012 found that 17.8 percent more Alaskans identify themselves as Republicans as opposed to Democrats. If Alaska is even competitive in 2016 it is hard to see how Republicans would stand any chance of winning.
Palin has undergone a remarkable decline Alaska since she was picked by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee in 2008. In 2007 some polls showed Palin popularity above 80 percent. Now, PPP shows that Alaskans have a higher opinion of Congress than Palin even though 82 percent of Alaskans have an unfavorable opinion of Congress.
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