What We Know About Alaska's Delegates

Another Saturday, another chance for states to make their voices heard when picking presidential nominees for voters' respective parties. This weekend is all about the Democrats. Three caucuses are occurring in the states of Hawaii, Washington, and Alaska. The Last Frontier state marks an especially important showdown for front-runner Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the latter of whom has been heavily campaigning in Alaska. For that reason, Sanders supporters and voters across the country are wondering how many delegates Alaska has. There are 20 total delegates up for grabs, though four of those will remain unpledged no matter what happens at caucus sites around the state.

As with all primary and caucus events for Democratic candidates, delegates will be divided up proportionally. Sixteen will be distributed, while four more are considered superdelegates. It's unclear whether the former secretary of state is in the lead in the state, as little to no polls have been released leading up to the Alaska Democratic Caucus. Based on total campaign events in the state, it appears as if Sanders will do impressively well. Even Sanders' wife, Jane, has been avidly campaigning for her husband. She landed in Anchorage on Thursday and is set to participate in events all the way until the Saturday caucus.

Though the Alaska Democratic Caucus is certainly an important event for Democratic candidates, its total delegates up for grabs pales in comparison to that of Washington. The Evergreen State boasts 101 pledged delegates, which will be proportionally distributed following the Washington Democratic Caucus on Saturday. Seventeen superdelegates have also been allocated.

The Alaska Democratic Caucus should be a fairly interesting event despite its modest amount of delegates at stakes. Though the event is closed, voters who were previously unaffiliated or registered with a different party can change their affiliation to participate. Those interested can do so at their respective caucus location or online via Alaska's voter registration portal. What that means is more opportunities for voters to caucus and make their voices heard. The statewide caucus kicks off at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Results are expected to emerge later that day.