50 Best State GOP Electoral Successes - Alaska

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Today continues a new recurring series which can be subtitled "The 50 Best GOP from the U.S. 50, over the last 50 years." Following in predetermined alpha order, this installment gives a little "Northern Exposure" to the 49th and geographically largest state of Alaska. Though only the second state honor to be presented, the choice may wind up being the toughest to make. While political junkies may argue that former long-time Senator Ted Stevens should be the obvious choice for his over 40 years of "public service", AZDB is going rogue by instead giving the honor to former Governor Sarah Palin (R- You Betcha!). In keeping with the original criteria of the "50 Best" theme, Sarah Heath Palin won in tougher in electoral climates, against tougher competition, helped improve the state's Republican prospects for future elections, and did more to solidify the GOP brand in the state than any other elected Republican in Alaska.

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Though a strong case could be made for selecting Stevens, former U.S. House Rep and six-term Senator voted Alaskan of the Century in 2000, he loses out on our "50 Best" for several reasons. For one, although he won all six of his regular terms from 1972-2002 with over 66%, his competition in each race was lackluster at best. No serious DemocRAT challengers ran against him in a general election until 2008, when Anchorage Mayor Bark Begich defeated him by under 4,000 votes. (I'm sure now in hindsight Alaska voters would like to take a mulligan on that one.) Also, the one other time he had a notable opponent, he lost a race for Senator to Mike Gravel (D - Outer Space). Sarah Palin, in winning the governorship during a horrible year for the GOP nationally in 2006, in contrast defeated both incumbent Governor and former 4-term Senator Frank Murkowski (R - Alaska Machine) in the GOP primary and former two-term governor Tony Knowles (D - Paint Drying) in the general election, an amazing political two-fer. Chris Matthews could see the "Old Boys Club" crumbling from his summer house, as she became both the youngest (42) and the only female to win the governorship in the young state's history.

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Secondly, while his electoral history is quite impressive, Stevens attained victories as a small-state influential Senator that could "bring home the bacon." The list of pork projects and federal dollars brought back to Alaska is way too long to detail, and using this influence is hardly what future GOP candidates, even in Alaska, should emulate - on both policy grounds and to clearly distinguish themselves in races vs DemocRATS. Sarah Palin, while hardly a perfect conservative regarding federal dollars being brought back to Alaska - mainly due to the inherent nature of the state - has built her profile, both in The Last Frontier and nationally as a fiscal hawk on steroids. She won both her GOP primary and general election for governor by running as a new type of candidate: one that was not part of the "Corrupt Bastards Club," and one that would return money to its citizens rather than tax and spend the state into oblivion. Fueled by rebating state oil revenues back to Alaskans by the thousands, Palin said what she meant and meant what she had said to the tune of an 83% approval rating in Nov 2007 - more than a month after she cancelled the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," whose funding was brought by none other than Ted Stevens. (In fairness, the $442M price tag for the project was not returned to the feds, but instead spent on other transportation projects in Alaska.)

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Third, choosing Stevens in place of Sarah Palin, whose electoral career has not been nearly as long and iconic as the other Senate lion named Ted, would mean substituting his octogenarian picture in place of this one:

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Trump...Freaking...Card.
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Though one can definitely make the case that Ted Stevens should get the honor for his accomplishments and decades of service (which goes back longer than Sarah Palin has even been alive!), from a pure electoral standpoint, and by giving future state Republicans (including her former Alaska running mate and current Governor Sean Parnell) a successful road map to keeping the offices in GOP hands, The Barracuda deserves the nod for the best GOP politician over the last 50 years the state of Alaska has been honored with.

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Honorable Mention: Former U.S. Rep and Senator Ted Stevens; former Gov. and U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski

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- 50 Best