Congressman Don Young dead at 88
Congressman Don Young died on Friday, March 18 at age 88. He and his wife Anne traveled in an airplane from L.A. when Young lost consciousness as the plane descended into Seattle and was pronounced dead at the concourse in the airport terminal.
Young served his 25th term as Alaska’s member of the House of Representatives. He first won a special election in March 1973 and has been Alaska’s congressman ever since, for 49 years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Young, the Dean of the House and longest serving Republican representative, will lie in state in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol on Tuesday, March 29.
President Joe Biden released a statement saying he knew Don Young for a long time. “He always stayed true to who he was and the people of Alaska he represented.
Tough. Loyal. A consensus builder,” Biden said. “He was larger than life, but always focused on Alaskans’ everyday lives. As Dean of the House, he was the longest-serving House Republican in history—but cherished photos of his legislation being signed into law by ten presidents, Republicans and Democrats.” Biden said that Young’s legacy lives on in the infrastructure projects he delighted in steering across Alaska.
Alaskan organizations and politicians have expressed shock and sadness over Young’s unexpected passing.
Young was seeking reelection in this year’s fall elections. When a vacancy occurs in the U.S. House of Representatives, the United States Constitution requires a special election to be called before a replacement can be seated.
The Alaska Division of Elections issued a press briefing saying that the special primary must be held no less than 60 and no more than 90 days after the vacancy of the seat. The primary is an open, non-partisan primary where the top four candidates advance to the special general election.
The division stated that the primary election would have to take place sometime between June 11 and June 16.
The special general election would then be held on the first Tuesday not later than 60 days after the special primary. If the primary election would be held June 11, the special general election would be held on August 16. The candidate selected would serve the remainder of Young’s term until elections in the fall and taking office in January 2023.
To give time for candidates to file for office, the governor needs to issue a special election proclamation by March 25. After that, the candidacy filing period begins until approximately April 1.
Voters approved a ballot measure that changed the voting process from party primaries to an open, nonpartisan primary, which will precede the special election. Voters will choose their favorite and the top four candidates will advance to a general special election.
In the general special election ranked choice voting will allow voters to rank candidates in order of their preference. When a candidate receives a majority, they win. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated and voters who ranked them first have their vote transferred to their next choice. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority.
The Division of Election, if primary election is held on June 11, targets June 25 to certify the primary election.