What to expect in the Alaska and Wyoming Democratic presidential contests
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will face Democratic voters this Saturday in a pair of nominating contests in Alaska and Wyoming that are unlikely to produce any surprises.
In Wyoming, Democrats will award 13 delegates using a presidential preference vote held at caucuses in each of the state’s 23 counties. Seven names will appear on the ballot, but Biden is the only major candidate competing for votes. Caucusgoers will have the option to vote for “Uncommitted,” which has been used in some other states to register a protest vote against the sitting president.
In Alaska, 15 delegates are at stake in Saturday’s party-run primary, but the event won’t resemble any other presidential nominating contest held so far this year. Democratic voters will convene in meetings in each of Alaska’s 40 state House districts and indicate their support for Biden in a voice vote. Most of the district meetings will be held virtually by video conference, although participants in Fairbanks and Juneau have the additional option of attending and voting in person. State party officials had originally planned to hold a vote-by-mail primary to conclude on April 6, but they revamped their plans after U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota suspended his campaign, leaving Biden the only remaining candidate to qualify for the Alaska ballot. Rather than cancel the primary as Florida and Delaware did last month, the party changed the event to a simple voice vote and pushed it back a week to coincide with the state House district caucuses. Doing so reduced the cost of the primary from $450,000 to $10,000, according to the state party chairman.