1980Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1980 election for Alaska House District 5
Alaska House of Representatives · Alaska
Bette Cato (D) won with 52.8% of the vote, defeating Margaret Branson (R) by 18.3 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Bette CatoDemocrat · winner
52.8%2,343
Margaret BransonRepublican · incumbent
34.5%1,529
Write-ins and other votesOther party
12.8%566
4,438 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET