2008 Alaska Democratic presidential caucuses

The 2008 Alaska Democratic presidential caucuses took place Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008.[1] This was the first time that Democrats in Alaska participated in Super Tuesday, and the large turnout forced at least one caucusing site to delay closing its doors far beyond the 6 p.m. deadline.[2] The state had a total of 13 delegates at stake. Barack Obama won the Alaska Democratic Caucuses and secured 9 delegates to the Democratic National Convention while Hillary Clinton took 4 delegates. However, the caucus was non-binding, and Alaska's Democratic State Convention in May awarded Obama 10 pledged delegates.

2008 Alaska Democratic presidential caucuses

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Candidate Barack Obama Hillary Clinton
Home state Illinois New York
Delegate count 9 4
Popular vote 6,674 2,194
Percentage 75.16% 24.71%

Primary results by state house district
Obama:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Process

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The Alaska Democratic Caucuses were open to all Alaska voters. Non-Democrats and unregistered voters could register or switch party affiliation at the meeting. At the caucus, voters "fanned out" to groups of supporters of their candidate. Then delegates to the state convention on May 24, 2008, were selected from these preference groups. At the district caucuses, candidates required a minimum support threshold of 15 percent to win delegates to the state convention. The same threshold applied at the state convention; candidates needed a support threshold of 15 percent to receive delegates at the Democratic National Convention.[3]

However, the district caucus results were not binding on the state convention delegates. Therefore, although Obama only won 9 delegate votes in the caucuses, at the state convention he secured 10. Unlike many caucus states, the actual number of votes in the Alaska caucuses was disclosed. Many states only tabulate state delegates or state delegate equivalents.[3]

The state convention officially allocated the 13 delegates to the national convention. In addition, the state convention chose five superdelegates to attend the national convention. Superdelegates officially were not pledged to any candidate.[1] However, all of Alaska's superdelegates endorsed either Clinton or Obama.

Results

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Alaska Democratic presidential caucus results – 2008
Party Candidate Votes Percentage State Delegates Delegates
Democratic Barack Obama 6,674 75.16% 306 9
Democratic Hillary Clinton 2,194 24.71% 104 4
Democratic Uncommitted 12 0.14% 1 0
Totals 8,880 100.00% 411 13
Voter turnout %

State Convention

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Alaska Democratic Presidential State Convention – May 24, 2008
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Democratic Barack Obama 272 77.50% 10
Democratic Hillary Clinton 79 22.50% 3
Democratic Uncommitted 0 0.00% 0
Totals 351 100.00% 13
Voter turnout %

Superdelegates

Superdelegate Selected by Endorsement
John Davies Democratic National Convention Barack Obama
Patti Higgins Democratic National Convention Hillary Clinton
Blake Johnson Democratic National Convention Barack Obama
Cindy Spanyers Democratic National Convention Barack Obama
Tony Knowles State Convention Delegates Barack Obama

Analysis

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Barack Obama scored a major victory in the Democratic Caucuses, winning by more than a three-to-one margin over Hillary Clinton.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Alaska Democratic Delegation 2008". The Green Papers. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  2. ^ Hunter, Don; Sean Cockerham; Kyle Hopkins (February 6, 2008). "Alaskans statewide have their say". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MODEL DELEGATE SELECTION PLAN FOR THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. October 23, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.

See also

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