The state that gave us the "bridge to nowhere" is a place where voters appreciate the value of a congressional earmark. So it should not come as a surprise that Alaska's only member of the House doesn't want to join the hands-off approach that his fellow Republicans are adopting for this election year.

Rep. Don Young gave this statement to the Daily News Miner in Fairbanks: "I am elected to serve my constituents, and as long as they continue to request federal funding for their projects of interest, then I will continue to do my best to accommodate them."

Hat tip: BNN Frontrunner.

Alaska will vote this year on a senator and on its at-large House member, and so far the incumbents appear to be in a solid position for re-election, according to a poll conducted Jan. 27 and 28.

Of the 710 Alaska voters who participated in the automated poll, 52 percent approved of the way Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is performing in office, with 36 percent expressing disapproval. Alaska Democrats have not yet fielded a strong challenger for Murkowski, and Democrats in Washington have indicated that they do not plan to target her in 2010.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) had a tough challenge for re-election in 2008, but when tested against Democratic state Rep. Harry Crawford, Young was the favored name, 49 percent to 34 percent. Young had a an approval rating of 43 percent versus 41 percent of disapproving.

The health care ad assault doesn't take a break for Thanksgiving. The 60 Plus Association, the conservative response to the AARP, announced a $2 million ad buy going after eight centrist Democratic senators and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the only member of the GOP who has been open to negotiations on the Senate's health care legislation.

The ad will begin airing tomorrow in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Entitled "Devastating," it cites a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report assessing the bill's affects on Medicare, warning seniors their benefits and access to care could be jeopardized.

"This should be a week of Thanks, but these Senators will be receiving 'No Thanks' from seniors," 60 Plus Association President Jim Martin said in a release. "The chief actuary says the House bill cuts Medicare. The Senate bill is no better."

Andrew Halcro, a former Alaska state representative and recent independent candidate for governor, announced Thursday that he will challenge longtime Rep. Don Young for the state's at-large House seat in the 2010 Republican primary.

Halcro made the announcement during an Alaska Support Industry Alliance gathering, according to the Anchorage Daily News and local media outlets.

He reportedly touched on the questions about Young's political ethics that plagued the incumbent -- Alaska's only House member since 1973 -- during his stormy 2008 re-election campaign. Halcro emphasized the fact that controversies surrounding the incumbent's ties to business interests and his fundraising practices prompted Young to surrender his senior positions on the House National Resources Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Democrat Ethan Berkowitz is now officially running for governor of Alaska in 2010 -- a race in which he hopes to expand upon the statewide base he built with his competitive 2008 challenge to veteran Republican Rep. Don Young, the state's only U.S. House member.

Berkowitz, who faces primary competition, is seeking to challenge interim Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. Parnell moved up from lieutenant governor on July 26 after incumbent Sarah Palin -- the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee -- resigned the office.

A Parnell-Berkowitz matchup would be a rematch of sorts, as both were lieutenant governor nominees, but they ran on gubernatorial tickets, Parnell with Palin and Berkowitz with Tony Knowles, a former governor who unsuccessfully sought a comeback in that race.

Democrats hoping to reprise their tough 2008 challenge to veteran Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young have drawn their first major challenger for the 2010 race. Democratic state Rep. Harry Crawford announced Wednesday that he is running for the state's lone House seat, which Young has held since a 1973 special election.

"I'm not a partisan politician and I won't play political games," Crawford said in a statement. He later added, "It's time for our state to have a member of Congress who offers fresh ideas backed by new energy and enthusiasm."

Crawford, a 57-year-old Anchorage resident who was born in Louisiana, first won his state House seat in 2000. He fills a void for Democrats created when former state House Democratic leader Ethan Berkowitz decided he would prefer to run for governor in 2010 than seek a rematch of the competitive race he ran against Young in 2008.

New Hampshire's state Democratic party released a web ad Wednesday comparing Republican state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin.

Ayotte on Tuesday announced her resignation as Attorney General to explore a bid for U.S. Senate. Palin on July 3 announced her resignation as governor and has left the door open to future political endeavors, including a presidential campaign in 2012.

Palin received harsh blowback from some colleagues for leaving office mid-session.

Yes, he is 76 years old, but Republican Rep. Don Young, has let Alaska know that he's not ready to leave Congress after only 19 terms.

Young, the state's only House member, has filed to run for re-election in 2010.

"Maybe this will put to rest some of those people that are ambitious and want to run for this seat, understanding I'm there and the people will decide whether I stay or not," Young told the Anchorage Daily News.

Local news reports quote the congressman saying he announced early in the hope of deterring would-be challengers.

The Democratic Governors Association in a fundraising e-mail Tuesday highlighted Florida, Alaska, Georgia and Minnesota as 2010 takeover opportunities.

"We know we can take back the governor's mansion in every one of these states. But these are historically Republican seats, and in this crucial election, we won't win them without a fight," DGA National Political Director Ray Glendening wrote in the fundraising pitch.

Three of the races are open seat contests and in the fourth, Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin has yet to confirm her intention to seek re-election.

The Alaska Democrat who almost toppled Rep. Don Young last year is gearing up for another statewide race -- against Gov. Sarah Palin, if she chooses to run for re-election.

"My sights are now on the governor's race," Ethan Berkowitz, a former leader of the Democratic minority in the state House, said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

In 2008, Republican Young defeated Berkowitz by a 5 percentage-point margin -- a difference of 16,379 votes -- after easily topping his 2006 Democratic opponent by nearly 17 points and nearly 40,000 votes, and winning a landslide victory as recently as 2004 by nearly 50 points and 150,000 votes.

Two years before his 2008 House race, Berkowitz ran for lieutenant governor; the Republican ticket of Palin for governor and Sean Parnell for lieutenant governor defeated the Democratic ticket of former Gov. Tony Knowles and Berkowitz, 48.3 percent to 41 percent.