Forty-seven years after he came to Congress after his opponent was declared legally dead, Alaska's Republican Rep.-at-large Don Young is now running behind after years of winning reelections with ease.
According to a just-completed Alaska Survey Research poll, Young, 87, is trailing Democrat-supported independent Alyse Galvin 48% to 46% statewide.
Two years ago, Galvin, a small businesswoman and founder of the Great Alaska Schools advocacy group, drew 46.5% of the vote against Young.
Like U.S. Senate nominee Al Gross, Galvin has been a registered independent for several years and is now running with the endorsement of the state Democratic Party.
Having come to Congress before any other current U.S. representative or senator, Young is often referred to as the "grand old man" of Congress. He has served as chairman of both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee and proudly boasts that he has never so much as tried to use a computer.
Beaten by Democrat Rep. Nick Begich in 1972 while Begich was declared missing in a small plane, former riverboat captain Young won the subsequent special election after the incumbent was declared dead.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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