After rejecting Diane, will Alaska Democrats be able to hold the Native vote?

[Ken Burch]

One thing that bothered me a lot about the outcome of the primary is that the Democratic Party in this state once again sent the message that we won't nominate an Alaska Native for any race about state senator. The party did unto Diane as it did unto Willie Hensley in the Senate race in 1990. How do we continue to hold the votes of Alaska Natives, a constituency we have to take overwhelmingly in order to have any chance of winning any statewide races, if so many of us insist that the top places on the tickets have to go to whites, and, especially, to white MEN? I know this wasn't necessarily a conscious intent of those who backed Ethan, but I'm sure a lot of Native voters here will see it that way and I'm wondering if we're going to be able to overcome this perception?

[Lucky 13]

1. Well....

If we're talking about the Democratic party in general, I think more outreach is needed to Native and bush communities. That is without question. Producing relevant education materials and holding town forums to detail exactly why Democrats are better for natives than Republicans I think would be a good first step.

With regards to Ethan and Diane, there was a free and fair election and Ethan won more votes. If Diane was going to be a huge draw for natives and the bush communities, we would have seen her pull in better numbers and beat Ethan. The numbers simply do not reflect that.

Additionally, many Natives supported and endorsed Ethan. He will win their vote the same way he wins the white vote, the african american vote, the latino vote, the vietnamese vote, etc. Presenting the issues, taking a stand, pointing out Young's failures, and running a good campaign.

If Hillary Clinton had beaten Barack Obama, it wouldn't have been because the Democratic Party "rejected" black people. It would have been because more votes/delegates thought Hillary was the better candidate. Likewise, Ethan beating Diane isn't the party rejecting natives... it just means more people thought he was the better candidate.

Republicans have fewer Native candidates than Democrats do! Presenting the argument that Democrats are a better choice shouldn't be difficult. This would actually be a great opportunity for Diane. Perhaps she could assume an internal leadership role within the party to address this very issue. Who better to accomplish it?

[Blue_In_AK]

2. A little off topic but a very sad thing I witnessed

the day after the primary while I was helping Diane break down her campaign office -- a young Native woman with her child stepped in and asked Diane how the campaign was going, that she was really looking forward to voting for her. It was awful having to tell her that Diane was out of the race because she lost the primary. That woman was COMPLETELY UNAWARE that she had to vote in the primary first -- she just assumed Diane would be on the ballot in November. Less than an hour later, we had an almost identical telephone call from someone out in the Bush -- how could they help Diane's campaign, did she need more money. They couldn't wait to vote for her -- HER, not the generic Democrat. We also heard that many people were out at their fish camps, and if they hadn't voted absentee ahead of time, they weren't going to be near any polling places.

During the campaign we tried and tried to point out to people that they HAD to vote in August, that if they didn't Diane's opponent was going to win. I think maybe the process wasn't completely understood. It's been a long time since a primary really made much difference. I think a lot of people just assumed it would be Diane and Don again, like last time. Not everybody is a political junkie like we are.

Even as it was, Diane did very well out in the Bush, Fairbanks, Elmendorf AFB and many other pockets around the state. Unfortunately those weren't the areas with the quantities of votes.

I'm not as confident as Lucky13 that Ethan will be able to win over the Native vote, particularly if it ends up being Don Young that he's running against. Don's an old habit that will be hard to break -- a name they recognize and someone who they perceive, at least, has done a lot for them.

[Steerpike]

3. Don Young

will beat Ethan easily in the Native vote. I could not say if he can beat Ethan overall. Me and my wife both voted for Diane. I'll vote for Ethan but my wife will probobly go with Don. Ethan has no record at all of doing a thing for natives. Don has a whole lifetime of good works that he has done for Alaskan natives...that is not perception...that is fact.
My aunt Almira said she won't vote for Don (she thinks he's too old). But, everyone else says they will vote for Don, now that Diane is out of the picture. No women on the top of the ticket on any of the Democratic races...bad news