Facebook “likes” aren’t votes, but if they were, Ben Carson would top Alaska’s Republican presidential primary and Bernie Sanders would run away with the Democratic Party’s pick.
That’s the conclusion of a new study conducted by FiveThirtyEight, an online statistical journalism program owned by ESPN. In a nationwide survey, FiveThirtyEight analyzed each county and census area in the United States, judging which candidate received the highest proportion of “likes” among presidential candidates.
In Alaska, Sanders was the top pick in 14 boroughs and census areas, including every location in Southeast Alaska except the Wrangell and Ketchikan boroughs. Sanders’ opponent, Hillary Clinton, “won” no borough or census area in Alaska and consistently ranked toward the bottom of the listings.
Carson was the top pick in 13 boroughs and census areas, including Fairbanks and Anchorage. Fellow Republican challenger Donald Trump was the top pick in the North Slope Borough and the only person other than Carson and Sanders to “win” a portion of Alaska.
In every borough and census area except the Aleutians East, Aleutians West, Haines and Petersburg, Trump was the No. 2 Republican pick. In Haines and Petersburg, Cruz topped Trump. In the Aleutians, Trump was the No. 1 Republican pick but finished behind Sanders.
Alaska’s Republican presidential preference poll is March 1. The Democratic caucuses are March 26.
To see the full FiveThirtyEight study, visit https://t.co/E60SEljmmL
