WASHINGTON — 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 through a presidential preference vote held during caucuses in each of the state’s 23 counties. Seven names will appear on the ballot, but Biden is the only major candidate vying for votes. Caucusgoers will have the option to vote for Not Recorded, which has been used in some other states to record a protest vote against the sitting president.
In Alaska, 15 delegates are at stake in Saturday’s party-organized primary, but the event will be unlike any other presidential nominating contest held so far this year. Democratic voters will gather in rallies in each of Alaska’s 40 state House districts and express their support for Biden through a voice vote. Most county meetings will be held virtually via videoconference, although participants in Fairbanks and Juneau will have the additional option of attending and voting in person. State party officials originally planned to hold a mail-in primary on April 6, but they revised their plans after U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota suspended his campaign, leaving Biden as the only remaining candidate eligible for the elections in Alaska. . Instead of canceling the primaries, as Florida and Delaware did last month, the party changed the event to a straight-ticket vote and pushed it back a week to coincide with the state House district caucuses. This reduced the cost of the primary election from $450,000 to $10,000, the state party chairman said.
Biden has already surpassed the number of delegates he needs to officially claim the nomination at the convention this summer.
Republicans in Alaska held presidential caucuses on Super Tuesday in March. Wyoming Republicans will complete the process of awarding presidential delegates at their state convention next week.
In 2020, Biden won the Alaska primary, 55% to 45%, and the Wyoming caucuses, 72% to 28%, over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Both events took place shortly after Sanders suspended his campaign but before Biden unofficially clinched the nomination. Sanders carried both states in the 2016 primaries against Hillary Clinton.
Both Alaska and Wyoming vote reliably Republican in the general presidential elections. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win either state was President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
In Wyoming, Biden is the favorite in the caucuses because he faces no major challengers in the vote. The first indication of him winning statewide at a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held this year could be enough to determine the statewide winners.
In Alaska, Biden is the only suitable candidate. Determining the winner will be a matter of waiting for the state party to announce when the result is official.
Here are the Saturday games at a glance:
Democrats: 28 (Alaska 15, Wyoming 13)
FESTIVE EVENTS (2): Alaska primaries, Wyoming caucuses
11 a.m. EDT: The first county caucus begins in Wyoming
12:15 PM EDT: Most county caucuses begin in Wyoming
1:00 PM EDT: The final county caucus begins in Wyoming
2:00 PM EDT: Ballot session convenes in 16 of Alaska’s 40 counties
4:00 PM EDT: Ballot session convenes in 16 of Alaska’s 40 counties
6:00 PM EDT: Ballot session convenes in 8 of Alaska’s 40 counties
7:00 PM EDT: Deadline for submitting Wyoming caucus results to state party
11:00 PM EDT: Final results from Alaska expected
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden is the only candidate eligible to vote. There are 15 delegates at stake.
WHO CAN VOTE: Only registered Democrats may participate in the party-led primaries.
EXPECTED RESULTS: The voting sessions will take place at different times throughout the day depending on the location of the precinct. The state party chairman is expected to announce the final result no later than 11:00 PM EDT.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Jason Palmer, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, “Uncommitted” and three others. Thirteen delegates are at stake.
WHO CAN VOTE: Only Democrats who registered on Tuesday will be allowed to participate in Saturday’s Democratic caucuses. Caucusgoers must live in the county to participate in that county’s caucus.
EXPECTED RESULTS: Caucus start times vary by county, but caucus officials have until 7:00 PM EDT to report their results to the state party.
Wyoming
As of Saturday, there are 128 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and 206 days until the November general election.
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