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Alaska's Rep. Young faces his toughest vote yet on Tuesday
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Aug 24, 2008 05:20pm |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Aug 24, 2008 05:00pm |
| Description | By Sean Cockerham | Anchorage Daily News
PALMER, Alaska -- U.S. Rep. Don Young, just a few days from what's expected to be his toughest election in more than two decades, seemed to be having the time of his life.
Young strolled through the Alaska State Fair on Thursday with a grin, energized by the tight race. Between handshakes with fairgoers, he didn't try to hide his contempt for his Republican primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
"I know he's incompetent," said the 75-year-old Young, who has been Alaska's representative since 1973. "He doesn't have any clue where he's headed."
The Republican primary for Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House is shaping up as the main event in Tuesday's election. Young faces Parnell and Kodiak state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux. Pollsters say the battle between Young and Parnell is too close to call, with LeDoux's vigorous candidacy a wild card.
Tuesday's election will feature four ballot measures and the U.S. Senate primaries, including Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' first test since his indictment.
Democrats Ethan Berkowitz and Diane Benson face off in their party's U.S. House primary to see who gets to challenge the winner of the Young-Parnell-LeDoux Republican primary race in the November general election.
Parnell, 45, is running on a right-wing platform of change. He waved off Young's insults, which have included the congressman recently calling the lieutenant governor "Capt. Zero."
"I think it's time to elect a congressman who treats everyone with respect," Parnell said in an interview Friday. "I'm not in this to diminish others, I'm in this to represent Alaska."
Moments earlier, Parnell had finished a news conference that Young had crashed, laughing and joking. Parnell had staged the event to criticize a Democratic Party attack on him. |
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