The Republican Moderate Party of Alaska was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

formed by Ray Metcalfe in 1986 as an alternative to what Metcalfe perceived to be a Republican Party dominated by the religious right.

History

In 1986 former Republican state legislator Ray Metcalfe chose to run against

Jan Faiks Janice O. "Jan" Faiks (November 17, 1945 – April 10, 2017) was an American politician who served in the Alaska Senate. Biography Faiks was born at Mitchel Air Force Base in New York and attended Choctawhatchee High School. She studied math a ...

, who had defeated him in 1982, as an independent under the "Republican Moderate" ballot line which was approved by the state in June. Shortly before the election the

Alaska Republican Party The Alaska Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage. It is currently the favored party in the state, controlling both of Alaska's U.S. Senate seats, the Alaska House of Representatives, and ...

attempted to have a court remove him from the ballot stating that it would confuse voters, however the assistant attorney general stated that it was late for the Republicans to challenge his ballot access. On September 17, 1986, the Alaskan Republican Party filed a lawsuit to remove Metcalfe from the ballot and barr him from using "Republican" in his party name, but they were rejected and Metcalfe was allowed to stay on the ballot. The Republicans attempted to appeal to the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

, but the court refused to hear their case. Metcalfe was later defeated by Faiks for a second time and only took 34.27% of the vote. Only one candidate has ever won an election, a 2002 race for the

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

, but Thomas Wagoner re-affiliated with the Republican Party the day after the election. The Republican Moderate Party has extensive litigation-related history, due in no small part to its minor party status. After a record of success in the 1990s, its support has slowly dwindled, ending with just 0.63% of the 2002 gubernatorial election. State law requires that 3% of registered voters vote for a party or be registered to it for recognition. A court challenge initially overturned this law, holding that it was more restrictive than what the state required of independent candidates, but resulted in the original law being upheld by the

Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Ala ...

on the grounds that a party candidate has more impact than an independent candidate. The party has since been recognized by the state again. As of October 2010 there were 2,719 members statewide. As of January 2011, the Republican Moderate Party is no longer classified as a political party but rather as a political group.

Actions towards Ben Stevens

The party and its founder have been one of the major voices of criticism toward

Ben Stevens Benjamin Aavan Stevens (March 18, 1959 – October 13, 2022) was an American politician and political advisor who served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy. He previously served as the President of the Alaska State ...

, former state senate president and son of US Senator

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Party (United St ...

. Allegations of collusion with oil companies and bribery ran for years, culminating with an FBI raid on the state senator's office
Anchorage Daily News reporting the FBI raid and his retirement from public life.

Electoral performance

Gubernatorial

References

External links

Business website
{{United States state and local political parties Republican Party (United States) by state Political parties in Alaska Political parties established in 1986 1986 establishments in Alaska