Alaska's lone congressman, Republican Don Young, won a 17th term Tuesday in a race against a little-known and little-financed Democrat.

Young, of Fort Yukon, was first elected in 1973 to fill the vacancy left by the death of Democrat Nick Begich, who died in a plane crash with then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, a Louisiana Democrat.

Young is a former riverboat captain. He is fourth in seniority among House Republicans. He is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and sits on the Resources Committee and the Select Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

Thomas Higgins is a theater technician who made his fourth run for public office Tuesday.

In 2001, he lost his bid for a seat on the Anchorage Assembly. In 2002, he ran for the U-S Senate as a member of the Green Party but was defeated in the primary. Higgins ran for Anchorage mayor in 2003 and finished sixth of eleven candidates.