Sometime about 4:30 p.m., a man walked through the parking-lot doors of Centennial Hall and uttered a single word: “Wow!”
“Don’t worry,” came a volunteer’s reply as the man surveyed a line of voters stretching the length of the building. “The line moves quickly.”
Juneauites joined national trends Tuesday as they surged to the polls in record numbers. Six hundred and eighty-two Republican voters cast ballots in Juneau, besting the 439 participants in 2012 and the 482 who cast ballots in the 2008 presidential preference poll, the first to use the method.
Juneau differed from the nation, however, as it preferred Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over insurgent businessman Donald Trump.
At the Juneau polling station, Cruz received 237 votes; Trump garnered 198. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was third with 150 votes, while Ben Carson and John Kasich trailed with 60 and 37, respectively.
Nationwide, Trump won seven states on Super Tuesday, extending his lead in the count of delegates pledged to the Republican National Convention. In Alaska, however, Cruz topped Trump with the support of Juneau’s votes. Statewide, when the final results came in just before midnight Wednesday morning, Cruz had a 577-vote lead over Trump.
Cruz had 36.2 percent of Alaska’s vote; Trump earned 33.6 percent. Rubio was third with 15.2 percent.
With 13 percent the minimum to receive any of Alaska’s delegates to the Republican National Convention, Cruz and Trump will each earn 11 of Alaska’s 27 pledged votes. Rubio will take the remaining five.
In Juneau, turnout was highest between the opening of the polls at 3 p.m. and about 5 p.m. The line in Centennial Hall steadily decreased throughout the night; by the time the final stragglers came in (mostly lawmakers leaving a late session of public testimony), they walked right in.
In addition to the 682 Juneau voters who cast ballots, there were 100 non-Juneau voters who cast out-of-district ballots at Centennial Hall under the Republican rules for the poll.
Among them was Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, who said she is a businesswoman and voted for Donald Trump because he aligns with her beliefs on business.
Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, said she cast her vote for Marco Rubio because she likes his philosophy of government.
“I’m a Cruz guy,” said Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole and the Senate Majority Leader. “I’m glad to see him doing well.”
Other lawmakers declined to share their votes.
“That’s between me and the Lord,” said Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks.
“I believe in the private ballot,” said Sen. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.
Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, accompanied her mother to the polls about 4:30 p.m. and declined to share her vote.
“I voted for the best candidate on the ballot,” said Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, “and it was a Republican.”
Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, declined to share his vote, but shared a sentiment many voters did. “It was a difficult decision,” he said.
On the turnout, he joked, “I didn’t think there were that many Republicans in downtown Juneau.”
After being informed that Mendenhall Valley voters were also coming to Centennial Hall, he laughed. “Oh, that explains it,” he said. “There’s a few out there.”
Reid Bowman came to the polls with his wife, Tami. While they declined to discuss who they voted for, Reid said he has voted as an independent before but was participating with the Republican Party for the first time.
“I wanted to have my voice heard,” he said, adding that abortion was his primary concern.
Jodi Pessolano was a Cruz campaigner in Juneau and cast her vote after hanging a poster advertising the Republican district caucus on Friday.
“I think he’s doing great,” she said of Cruz. “God willing, we can stop (Trump).”
Juneau Results (District 34 and District 33, Juneau-only)
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Cruz 152+85 = 237
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Trump 131+67 = 198
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Rubio 90+60 = 150
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Carson 45+15 = 60
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Kasich 15+22 = 37
Total: 682
Haines (District 33)
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Trump 26
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Cruz 25
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Rubio 18
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Kasich 6
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Carson 3
Results finalized at 9:19 p.m.
Volunteers check voters’ identification at the Republican Presidential Preference Poll on March 1, 2016 in Centennial Hall’s Egan Ballroom.
Connie McKenzie, organizer of the Juneau polling station for the Republican Presidential Preference Poll, checks the results March 1, 2016 after the end of polling in Centennial Hall’s Egan Ballroom.
