Politics | Alaska Alaska Turning Purple as Election Nears Obama leads in poll; Democrat hasn't taken state since 1964 By Dustin Lushing Posted Aug 14, 2008 12:36 PM CDT Copied Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,and his wife Cindy board the Straight Talk Air campaign charter airplane, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008, in Newark, N.J.. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) The cold, snowy tundras of Alaska may transform into a battleground this November as Barack Obama and John McCain vie for the Land of the Midnight Sun's three electoral votes. Alaska hasn't gone blue since 1964, when LBJ won in a landslide, but an Anchorage-based poll currently has Obama leading McCain by 5 percentage points. The poll is far from exact—it has a margin of error of 4.9 points. But scandals affecting Republicans like Sen. Ted Stevens are providing a boost to the Obama camp. When asked if Obama can sustain momentum into November, one veteran research director responded, "I think we're definitely in play." Read These Next Kerr County considered a flood warning system years ago. A Texas man's disappearance is fodder for true-crime mania. Cancer claims the life of an MLB champ at 44. It's an epic farewell to the gods of metal. Report an error