In the weeks since the sudden death of U.S. Rep. Don Young, the state has announced a special election to replace the 49-year congressman, and 48 candidates are running to replace him. But what happens until a successor is elected and sworn in?
Alaska is one of seven states that have only one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (the others are Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Delaware). And with Young's death, Alaska will have no voting member in the chamber for more than five months.
But that doesn't mean the state's congressional office will be empty. All of the 16 staff members who served Young remain employed by what is now known as the office of Alaska at-large. Even without an elected representative at the helm, they will continue carrying out some of the office's responsibilities, now under the supervision of Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson.
