Trump, Clinton Tied In Traditionally Red Alaska

Alaska is normally a reliable state for the GOP to win in presidential elections, but a new poll by a Democratic-leaning research group found that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are in a virtual tie there.

Lake Research Group, which lists former President Bill Clinton, Vice-President Joe Biden, and several other prominent Democrats in its list of clients, said it polled 500 Alaskan voters and found Trump had merely a 1-point lead over Clinton, 37 percent to 36 percent, according to the Midnight Sun.

That’s a big improvement for Clinton, who trailed Trump by eight points in April, 38 to 30 percent.

The latest polling results were praised by the Alaska Democratic Party.

“In every poll conducted over the last several weeks, one thing is consistent. The race is a toss-up,” said Alaska Democratic Party Communications Director Jake Hamburg. “In light of the most recent revelations and Republican defections, things do not bode well for Donald Trump and the Alaska Republican Party with three weeks left to go until the elections.”

But Alaska Republican Party Vice-Chair Rick Whitbeck said he wasn’t worried about a Democratic win in Alaska on Election Day.

“I think Alaska voters are going to reject [Clinton’s] campaign and what she stands for and what she has said about Alaska,” Whitbeck told the Midnight Sun.

It’s not clear which comments Whitbeck was referring to, but Clinton once told a story about working at a fishery in Alaska in 1969 during a backpacking trip with friends

“My job was to grab them, and these are big fish, and to take a spoon and clean out the insides … best preparation for being in Washington that you can possibly imagine,” Clinton said in a 2015 interview, according to Politico.

Clinton explained that she was quickly fired for doing a poor job.

Sources: Midnight Sunak, Lake Research Group, Politico/ Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr