The Alaskan independence movement has been more successful, in some ways, than other independence movements among the fifty states. Unlike California and Texas, as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, Alaska had an Independence Party that was able to elect its candidate for governor. While he had previously been a Republican and returned to the Republican Party after his election, Wally Hickel won the gubernatorial race in 1990 under the Alaskan Independence Party’s banner.
Yet the Alaskan Independence Party dissolved in January of 2026. Before its dissolution, the Alaskan Independence Party has 19,177 members, just about 3% of the registered voters in Alaska. A 2024 poll found that 36% of Alaskans supported independence for their state, the largest showing by any state — and more than three times as strong the 2024 showing in Puerto Rico.
The history of the Alaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party was founded by one man, Joe Vogler, who was a transplant to Alaska from Nebraska. Alaska held a referendum on statehood, as did many though not all of the territories which have become states. Their vote was a yes/no vote on statehood, one of the most common forms for political status votes in territories. Vogler claimed that the majority vote for statehood in that 1958 plebiscite should not be accepted as democratic self-determination, because no other options were offered.
Puerto Rico also held a yes/no vote on statehood in 2020, and statehood won. The choices were between “yes” for statehood or “no,” which could be the choice of people favoring independence, continued territory status, or anything else but statehood. This meant that all the other options combined received fewer votes than statehood. The same was true for Alaska.
However, Vogler wanted to see four options:
- Remain a territory.
- Become a separate and independent country.
- Accept commonwealth status.
- Become a state.
The commonwealth status is legally the same as remaining a territory.
Vogler was hoping that presenting independence as an option would entice Alaskans to make that choice. Vogler and the Independence Party took a libertarian stance, wanting to do away with taxes, to privatize services currently provided by the government, and to remove restrictions on Alaska’s use of its land and resources.
Vogler died in mysterious circumstances in 1993, and the Independence Party gradually dwindled until its formal dissolution earlier this year.
Other arguments in favor of independence for Alaska
While Vogler felt strongly about what he called “American tyranny,” saying, “I have no use for America or her damned institutions,” there are other reasons people chose to support independence for Alaska. One is the belief that the U.S. purchase of Alaska and subsequent settling on Alaskan land was a colonial undertaking.
There are also Alaskans who feel that Washington is too far from Alaska and unable to understand the needs of the people. Just as some members of Congress held that Alaska was too distant to become a state, some residents of Alaska think that it still is, notwithstanding the internet, faster air travel than existed in 1958, and current representation in Congress.
Finally, as is seen in other independence movements, some Alaskans believe that the state provides more wealth to the U.S. government than the central government provides to Alaska.
Obstacles to independence
Alaska received $6.2 billion in federal funds in 2022, more than 39% of the state’s total budget. Alaska receives more federal funds than any other state. About one third of Alaskans are on Medicaid, less than the roughly half of Puerto Ricans, but still more than other states. Almost 9% of the people rely on food stamps — again, less than the percentage in Puerto Rico, but higher than other states. Alaska would be challenged to cover those costs without federal support.
Alaska’s economy relies heavily on oil, which is volatile, and on U.S. military bases. While the U.S. might keep the bases in operation even if Alaska were to gain independence, Alaska’s overall economy is not very diverse. As a remote and largely rural location, Alaska would find it difficult to provide jobs for all the residents.
Alaska’s position is made more complicated by the large number of indigenous tribes in residence. The complicated relationship between the United States and the tribal governments would doubtless change, and it is not possible to predict how that would affect Alaska’s economy or the relationships between indigenous and other residents in a new nation of Alaska.
Alaska’s closeness to Russia could also put the new nation in a vulnerable position if it needed to provide its own defense.
Could Alaska choose independence?
The U.S. Constitution does not allow states to secede. A peaceful transition to independence is not really an option for any state. The Supreme Court has confirmed this in its decision on Texas v. White. This decision holds that “States do not have the right to unilaterally secede from the United States.”
Since independence was never a majority position and no official post-statehood referendum was ever held, it’s a moot point. Alaskan separatists are or were clearly a stronger force than Puerto Rican separatists, but independence for Alaska has never been — and still is not — a realistic option.
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