Mat-Su, North Pole voters give Young a large lead
Five districts chose incumbent by a margin of more than 2,000 votes
ANCHORAGE - If Republican Don Young returns for his 19th term as Alaska's only representative in the U.S. House, he can thank voters in Gov. Sarah Palin's old stomping grounds, plus bedroom communities of Alaska's major cities.
Young, facing a well-financed challenge from former state Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, won majorities in 27 of Alaska's 40 House districts. But much of his nearly 17,000-vote cushion over the Democrat was due to strong showings - margins of more than 2,000 votes - in five House districts.
Those include North Pole, south of Fairbanks, and four districts connected to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough: Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla, nearby Palmer, Big Lake-Houston-Willow, and the district that straddles the border with north Anchorage, Peters Creek-Eklutna-Butte.
In the Mat-Su, Young's A-plus rating with the National Rifle Association resonated with moose hunters and salmon fishermen, said Steve Colligan of Wasilla, the vice chairman of the Republican Party of Alaska.
"Don Young, Ted Stevens, and Lisa Murkowski, and especially Young, have been hugely supportive of sportsmen," Colligan said.
His neighbors see the intrusive finger of government encroaching on gun rights, he said, and Young has an outstanding record resisting that trend.
"A lot of them are sportsmen - you can joke about it all you want - clinging to our guns and Bibles," he said.
Palin's entry onto the national stage as GOP vice presidential nominee also helped. She had called for Stevens to resign after his conviction last week on seven felony counts of not reporting gifts, and she had called out Young to explain why his campaign spent more than $1 million for legal fees.
But Palin's prominence also energized the Mat-Su's Republicans, Colligan said, and they remembered Young in the voting booth.
"No matter how you spin it, it turned out the conservative base, which in the end was good for Young and Stevens," he said.
More than 60,000 votes remain to be counted and Berkowitz on Wednesday was holding out hope.
"We're not conceding," said spokesman David Shurtleff.
"We had such low turnout that there's still may be over 20 percent of the vote that hasn't been counted yet," Shurtleff said. "It that enough to close the gap? We don't know."