The Alaska Redistricting Board recently adopted two draft maps, as well as four third party maps, to consider for Alaska’s new legislative districts. This happens every ten years per the Alaska Constitution. The board must adopt a final map by November 10.

This article focuses on the two draft maps from the board. The board has not yet included Senate pairings in their maps, so we are only including House seats for now. We created an interactive map for both board maps that show House incumbents and potential challengers. You can see that here. (The map is optimized for desktop use).

The colors of the districts correspond to how the districts voted in the 2020 presidential election. If you click on a district, it will tell you the estimated percentage that Biden or Trump won by. You can toggle between both board versions and include House incumbents and potential challengers that have filed letters of intent to date. We will add challengers as they file.

As is common, both versions pair incumbents and leave open districts. The following shows paired House incumbents and open districts for the two board maps:

The board initially adopted two maps titled versions 1 and 2. They were replaced with versions 3 and 4 and are now obsolete. This is why the two board versions are labeled 3 and 4. 

Board Map Version 3

Paired incumbents:

1. District 3: Representatives Sara Hannan (D – Juneau), Andi Story (D – Juneau)
2. District 10: Representatives Laddie Shaw (R – Anchorage), James Kaufman (R – Anchorage)
3. District 15: Representatives Chris Tuck (D – Anchorage), Sara Rasmussen (R – Anchorage)
4. District 17: Representatives Zack Fields (D – Anchorage), Matt Claman (D – Anchorage), Harriet Drummond (D – Anchorage)
5. District 20: Representatives Ivy Spohnholz (D – Anchorage), Liz Snyder (D – Anchorage)

Open seats:

1. District 4: Southeast (Skagway, Klukwan, Gustavas) [Biden +18.6%]
2. District 9: South Anchorage, Girdwood, Whittier (Biden +6.2%)
3. District 14: Anchorage (Sand Lake, Jewel Lake, Northwood) [Biden +3.1%]
4. District 16: Anchorage (Midtown) [Biden +21.5]
5. District 18: Anchorage (Government Hill, Mountain View, JBER) [Biden +17.5%]
6. District 21: Anchorage (Russian Jack, Nunaka Valley, Turpin) [Biden +8.3]

Board Map Version 4

Paired incumbents:

1. District 4: Representatives Sara Hannan (D – Juneau), Andi Story (D – Juneau)
2. District 12: Representatives Matt Claman (D – Anchorage), Sara Rasmussen (R – Anchorage)
3. District 14: Representatives Chris Tuck (D – Anchorage), Andy Josephson (D – Anchorage)
4. District 20: Representatives Zack Fields (D – Anchorage), Harriet Drummond (D – Anchorage)
5. District 22: Representatives Kelly Merrick (R – Eagle River), Ken McCarty (R – Eagle River)
6. District 29: Representatives David Eastman (R – Wasilla), Christopher Kurka (R – Wasilla)

Open seats:

1. District 4: Juneau (Mendenhall Valley) [Biden +14.3]
2. District 10: Anchorage (Bayshore/Klatt) [Trump +1.3]
3. District 13: Anchorage (Midtown) [Biden +21.1%]
4. District 21: Anchorage (Government Hill, Mountain View, JBER) [Biden +4.7%]
5. District 24: Eagle River (Eagle River Loop, Hiland Road) [Trump +21.1%]
6. District 26: Mat-Su (Bogard) [Trump +47.5]

Here is a breakdown of the partisan balance for both maps. This is based on the 2016 presidential election, the 2018 gubernatorial election, and the 2020 presidential election. District competitiveness is a composite measurement of all three races.

The board will be holding a series of meetings around the state to get public comment on all the draft maps. You can see a list of locations and dates here.

Robert Hockema is a campaign specialist and political organizer in Anchorage, Alaska. He graduated from UAA’s Political Science program in 2019, and has worked for candidates up and down the ballot and across the political aisle. Robert loves Alaska history and geomapping elections on Twitter.