Pro-abortion Democrat candidate Les Gara said during a candidate forum in Ketchikan that the state has lost population while Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been in office, and it’s Dunleavy’s fault.
Population growth has slowed in Alaska since the heydays of the pipeline era, and with federal policies and leftist judges disallowing logging and mining in the state. Outmigration is currently outpacing births, according to the Alaska Department of Labor, but Alaska’s population increased in fiscal year July 2021, with net births outpacing out-migration by 932 people. Excluding net migration — how many moved to or from the state — Alaska’s population grew by 0.50% that year. Since 2010, the state has added about 21,000 residents.
Yet, Alaska’s birth rate is higher than the national average, with 12.7 births for every 1,000 people between 2020 and 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates Program. Alaska has the second highest birth rate in the country after Utah. Alaska’s population of seniors who are 60 and older continues to grow, increasing 56.4% between 2010 and 2021.
The United States in general is seeing a long-term trend of falling birth rates, including a 4% drop in births in 2020, which pushed the birth rate to the lowest point since it has been recorded in the U.S. Demographic experts say this is due to the increase in the average age of mothers, and there is evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic put a chill on couples wanting to start families.
Since 2007, the U.S. birth rate has been far below what it takes to replace its population as elders die. Without immigration, the country would be losing population. Countries with shrinking populations may see that lead to slower economic growth and worker shortages.
Gara said the outmigration he described was due to Dunleavy’s administration cutting the budget and his opposition to abortion. Not catching the irony of his population analysis, Gara also said that Dunleavy’s views on same-sex coupling and transgenders discourages people from moving to the state.
Gara was the only major gubernatorial candidate to appear at Southeast Conference in person; Democrat-leaning Bill Walker is thought to be out of state and attended on a big screen behind Gara. Dunleavy and Charlie Pierce, the two Republicans, did not attend. Walker agreed with Gara that the state population is imploding and that it is Gov. Dunleavy’s fault.
Southeast Conference is a state and federally designated regional economic development organization for Southeast Alaska, and its annual gathering brings in policy makers from around the region to share ideas on advancing the region’s economy.
