Why is Hawaii Democratic and Alaska Republican?

Sure, Hawaii has rural areas. Compare the AK density map to this one.[3] Almost no areas in HI are as sparsely populated as in AK. The rural bits which you would expect might vote Republican are generally lived in by native Hawaiians, who are far more likely to vote Democrat than Republican. read more

Alaska * Majority white state (66.7%). * The next largest racial group is native Alaskans/native Americans, who as a group are much more likely to vote Democrat. read more

Alaska has been overwhelmingly Republican even more strictly than Hawaii has been Democratic, and only voted for a Democrat for President once (in 1964, which was a landslide for Johnson). The important thing to note is that the two parties swapped strategies in the 1960s, which is why New England progressives turned to the Democratic Party and Southern conservatives shifted to the Republicans over time. read more

The communities of Juneau, Sitka, downtown and midtown Anchorage, the areas surrounding the College/University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and Ester and the "Alaska Bush" – rural, sparsely populated Alaska – stand out as Democratic strongholds, while the Kenai Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, parts of Anchorage, and Fairbanks (including North Pole and Eielson Air Force Base), Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg serve as the Republican Party electoral base. read more