President Joe Biden looks to nudge further ahead in his party’s nomination for reelection with Democratic voting Saturday in Wyoming and Alaska. As two of the least populated states, Alaska and Wyoming play minuscule roles in both intraparty and general election voting in presidential election years.
Quick Read
- Democratic Nominations in Alaska and Wyoming: President Joe Biden seeks to solidify his position for reelection during Democratic voting in the less populous states of Wyoming and Alaska.
- Biden’s Status: Having effectively secured the Democratic nomination with the Georgia primary on March 12, Biden is anticipated to compete against former President Donald Trump in the general election.
- Alaska Voting Details: Alaska Democrats are conducting a voice vote during district meetings that are both in-person and virtual, with Biden as the sole candidate on the ballot after Dean Phillips suspended his campaign.
- Alaska Delegate Allocation: The state will distribute 15 pledged delegates based on the outcome of Saturday’s vote.
- Wyoming Caucus System: Wyoming Democrats are using county caucuses to decide the allocation of the state’s 17 national delegates, who will represent the state at the national Democratic convention.
- Delegate Freedom: While the initial round of national convention voting will reflect the caucus results, Wyoming delegates are free to choose any candidate in subsequent rounds if necessary.
- Party Leadership and Delegate Commitments: Wyoming’s state party leadership, including automatic national delegates, have not publicly pledged support for Biden or any other candidate.
- Overall Strategy: The voting in both states is part of the Democratic Party’s broader efforts to ensure inclusivity and transparency in the nomination process, avoiding any appearance of unilateral decisions by party leaders.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden looks to nudge further ahead with Alaska & Wyoming Democratic delegates
Newslooks- JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —
President Joe Biden looks to nudge further ahead in his party’s nomination for reelection with Democratic voting Saturday in Wyoming and Alaska. As two of the least populated states, Alaska and Wyoming play minuscule roles in both intraparty and general election voting in presidential election years.
Biden effectively clinched the Democratic nomination on March 12 with the Georgia primary and is now all but certain to face former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee in November.
ALASKA
Alaska Democrats will hold a voice vote for their party-run preference poll at in-person and virtual district meetings Saturday.
Biden is the only candidate on the ballot after the other Democrat to qualify, Dean Phillips, suspended his campaign last month. The vote is being held during meetings where other party business is conducted.
The polling was delayed a week. Democrats had planned a ranked vote election by mail on April 6 but those plans changed when just two candidates — Biden and Phillips — qualified for the ballot and when Phillips suspended his run.
Changes to their plan were approved by the Democratic National Committee.
Biden was the only candidate on the ballot, with no provisions for write-ins or uncommitted, said Lindsay Kavanaugh, the Alaska party’s executive director.
“There is no option to vote nay,” she said. “You can abstain. You don’t vote yes or no, you vote for a candidate.”
The party proceeded with a vote, even with just one candidate, “to make sure we’re as inclusive as possible,” she said, and to avoid any inference that party leaders were deciding candidates themselves.
Alaska will allocate 15 pledged delegates based on Saturday’s vote.
WYOMING
Wyoming’s Democrats will hold county caucuses Saturday where polling will determine which presidential candidate gets the state’s 17 national delegates.
The caucuses will also determine who goes to the state Democratic convention on June 1 in Casper. There, 13 of Wyoming’s national convention delegates will be chosen.
Wyoming’s other four “automatic” national delegates are the state party chairman, vice chair and two national committee people, who’ve not yet pledged for Biden or anyone else.
The winner of Saturday’s presidential poll will get the first-round vote of all 17 Wyoming delegates at the national convention. Should more rounds of voting be needed, the delegates will then be free to vote for whomever they wish.
