City of Anchorage

Kamala Harris and her Vice Presidential pick, Tim Walz, represent a new era in American politics. They are focusing on an economy that benefits the lower and middle class, rather than the ultra-wealthy. Harris' experience as a prosecutor makes her best suited to address the southern border and drug crisis. As vice president under President Joe Biden, Harris helped craft and pass the Infrastructure Act, which poured billions of federal dollars into Alaska, addressing everything from roads and bridges to broadband and energy. We recommend the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz ticket for U.S. President.

Robert Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in Alaska, despite him dropping out of the race and endorsing Donald Trump. Kennedy's platform was largely based on vaccine conspiracy theories, and despite coming from political royalty, many family members spoke out against his run for president. During his campaign, several odd stories of his past came out, including Kennedy admitting he dumped a dead bear in Central Park. We do not recommend voting for Robert Kennedy Jr.

Donald Trump's repeated attacks on our democracy make him unfit for office. His tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy benefit him and his billionaire friends at the expense of hard-working Americans. Rather than put forth an inspiring agenda, Trump and his vice president-select, J.D. Vance, are running on racist conspiracy theories. We do not recommend voting for the Trump/Vance ticket.

Incumbent Rep. Peltola put Alaska first in her first full term as the state's only House member, focusing on reaching energy independence by prioritizing affordable and reliable energy. Peltola ran in 2022 on a uniquely Alaska pro-choice, pro-fish, pro-gun platform. She also worked to secure infrastructure improvements, broadband access, and more that will create jobs for Alaskans so younger generations remain in state. Peltola was pragmatic and stuck to her values, putting her constituents above her party, voting to improve life for all Alaskans. We recommend ranking Mary Peltola first for U.S. Congress.

Nick Begich has never held office before. He is the founder of a software company and 90% of his employees are based in India. He is running for U.S. Congress largely on a national Republican platform, including calling social security a "ponzi scheme." While Begich comes from one of Alaska's most prominent political families, he was raised in Florida by his maternal grandparents and is not endorsed by his uncles, Tom and Mark Begich. Begich's campaign ads focus on addressing America's southern border, but are scant on what he would do for Alaska. Alaskans needs a representative working for our interests, not someone so focused on the Lower 48. We recommend ranking Nick Begich second.

John Wayne Howe did not mount enough of a campaign for us to support him for U.S. Congress. We recommend ranking him third.

Eric Hafner is running while serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for making violent threats to politicians, police, and judges. Hafner could not fulfill the residency requirements for this office, and is not a serious candidate. We recommend ranking Hafner last.

Janice Park supports restoring defined benefit retirement plans for public employees, is committed to increasing public school funding and early childhood education, and supports a transition to clean energy. We support ranking Janice Park first in Senate District F.

Sen. James Kaufman is a member of the bipartisan coalition. We recommend ranking James Kaufman second for Senate District F.

Harold Borbridge supports open primaries and is focused on education, public safety and increasing private investment in Alaska. We recommend ranking Harold Borbridge third for Senate District F.

Sen. Matt Claman is a member of the bipartisan coalition and supports the right to privacy as outlined in the constitution, public safety initiatives, increasing investment in public schools, a defined benefit pension retirement plan, and protecting the PFD. We recommend ranking Matt Claman first for Senate District H.

Liz Vasquez opposes increases to public school funding, supports incentives for Cook Inlet natural gas production, and supports the repeal of open primaries. We recommend ranking Liz Vasquez last for Senate District H.

Sen. Forrest Dunbar is a member of the bipartisan coalition. He has worked to increase housing affordability; supports the right to a safe, legal abortion as protected in the Constitution; and supports a "significant and durable increase" to public education funding to keep pace with inflation. Sen. Dunbar is known to be a hard-working legislator. We recommend ranking Forrest Dunbar first for Senate District J.

Cheronda Smith did not mount enough of a campaign to earn support for Senate District J.

Ky Holland is running on a platform focused on job creation, funding public schools, clean energy, and district infrastructure. We recommend ranking Ky Holland first for House District 9.

Lucy Bauer supports positions that destabilize the public school system. We recommend ranking Lucy Bauer last for House District 9.

Chuck Kopp is effective in fostering bipartisan cooperation, and has previously served as House Majority Leader. We recommend ranking Chuck Kopp first for House District 10.

Rep. Craig Johnson sided with Gov. Dunleavy's rejection of a bill that would have permanently increased Alaska's public school funding formula in the 2024 legislative session. We recommend ranking Craig Johnson last for House District 10.

Walter Featherly has served as president of the Anchorage School Board and is campaigning on public education, small business viability, and lowering the cost of living in Alaska. Featherly is a moderate who works as general counsel for Calista Corporation and has a near 40-year history of representing industry in Alaska exploring responsible resource development. Featherly will be the type of lawmaker who puts issues over party politics to get meaningful laws passed. We recommend ranking Walter Featherly first for House District 11.

Rep. Julie Coulombe sided with Gov. Dunleavy's rejection of a bill that would have permanently increased Alaska's public school funding formula in the 2024 legislative session. We recommend ranking Julie Coulombe last for House District 11.

Rep. Calvin Schrage is the House Minority Leader and a member of the bipartisan coalition. He has worked to ensure voting access for all Alaskans and demonstrated leadership on matters related to transparency, public health, and fiscal responsibility. We recommend ranking Calvin Schrage first for House District 12.

Joseph Lurtsema has a long history of promoting conspiracy theories, hate speech, and extremism. We recommend ranking Joseph Lurtsema last for House District 12.

Rep. Andy Josephson is a member of the bipartisan coalition and has supported public employees and school funding. He is a strong supporter of protections for natural resources. We recommend ranking Andy Josephson first for House District 13.

Heather Gottshall is challenging Rep. Andy Josephson on a platform that risks public education funds, and threatens Alaska's subsistence and natural resources. We recommend ranking Heather Gottshall last for House District 13.

Rep. Alyse Galvin is a member of the bipartisan coalition and has demonstrated collaboration and leadership on integrating renewable energy sources into the railbelt grid, funding public education, and supporting public employees during her time in the legislature. We recommend ranking Alyse Galvin first for House District 14.

Harry Kamden did not mount enough of a campaign for us to provide an endorsement. We recommend ranking him last.

Denny Wells is the only pro-choice candidate for District 15 and supports increased and predictable public education funding in Alaska. We recommend ranking Denny Wells first for House District 15.

Mia Costello is a former legislator who is again seeking office after working for former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson's administration. Costello is backed by the same politicians who opposed resources for police and first responders. If elected, said she would not join the bipartisan coalition and instead join the extremist that killed bills to increased education funding and a public employees pension in the 2024 legislative session. We recommend ranking Mia Costello last for House District 15.

Dustin Darden has a long history of promoting conspiracy theories, hate speech, and extremism. We recommend ranking Dustin Darden last for House District 15.

Carolyn Hall is running on a platform of funding public education, improving wages and benefits for state workers, and tackling the state's structural deficit. Hall has a long professional history in Anchorage, working as a journalist and municipal employee. We support ranking Carolyn Hall first for House District 16.

Nick Moe attempted to withdraw from the race for House District 16, but failed to submit his signed withdrawal form by the deadline. He has shuttered his campaign and endorsed Carolyn Hall. We do not support voting for or ranking Nick Moe in the House District 16 race.

Rep. Zack Fields has served in the legislature since 2019, and has demonstrated leadership for his district. He is a member of the bipartisan coalition and is running unopposed for House District 17.

Rep. Cliff Groh is a member of the bipartisan coalition. His priorities include saving the Permanent Fund Dividend, fully funding schools, and diversifying state revenue by raising taxes on oil industry. Groh spent years working in the legislature as an aide and co-created the Permanent Fund Dividend alongside former Governor Jay Hammond. We recommend ranking Cliff Groh first for House District 18.

David Nelson's campaign is being supplemented with support from Americans for Prosperity Action Alaska, a group funded by national extremists like the Koch Brothers. Nelson's campaign says relatively little about Alaska issues. We recommend ranking David Nelson last for House District 19.

Rep. Genevieve Mina is a member of the bipartisan coalition who has supported an increase to school funding, improvements to SNAP benefits, better snow plowing, protections for the PFD, and advocates for pro-choice, pro-labor, and pro-LGBTQ+ policies. We recommend ranking Genevieve Mina first for House District 19.

Russell Wyatt supports investments in education, health care, and affordable housing. We recommend ranking Russell Wyatt second for House District 19.

Kaylee Anderson did not mount enough of a campaign to earn our support for House District 16. We recommend ranking her last.

Rep. Andrew Gray is a member of the bipartisan coalition. He supports increased education funding, seeks to address homelessness through incentivizing new construction, and introduced legislation fixing backlogs in SNAP to address food insecurity. We recommend ranking Andrew Gray first for House District 20.

Scott Kohlhaas is a Libertarian with extreme views, who supports essentially nonexistent government. He supports private citizens owning waterways, cutting off access to sportsmen. He supports a one-time payout and full depletion of the Permanent Fund, leaving no funding for future generations. Kohlhaas stated he would not caucus with Democrats or Republicans, which would leave him in political exile with no power to represent his district. We recommend ranking Scott Kohlhaas last for House District 20.

Rep. Donna Mears is a member of the bipartisan coalition and supports increased school funding, restoring defined retirement benefits and provide competitive salaries for public employees, and investments in clean energy. She supports Ballot Measure 1 to raise the state minimum wage, and voting no on Ballot Measure 2 to keep Alaska's open primaries voting system. We recommend ranking Donna Mears first for House District 21.

Aimee Sims' platform focuses destabilizing the public school system through an increase of support for charter schools. We recommend ranking Aimee Sims last for House District 21.

Ted Eischeid is a former public school educator and Planner. He highly values increased education funding and supporting organized labor. Eischeid would be a huge improvement for representation of east Anchorage, putting issues above partisan politics. We recommend ranking Ted Eischeid first for House District 22.

Rep. Stanley Wright is pictured applauding as Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed key funding for key educational, nonprofit, and infrastructure programs in his own district. Wright refused to join a bipartisan coalition and instead empowered the Republican caucus that voted against an increase in public education funding. We recommend ranking Stanley Wright last for House District 22.

Doyle Holmes supports open primaries and investments in wind, solar, natural gas, and research for nuclear power to prepare for a post-oil future. We recommend ranking Doyle Holmes first for House District 30.

Rep. Kevin McCabe sided with Gov. Mike Dunleavy's rejection of a bill that would have permanently increased Alaska's public school funding formula in the 2024 legislative session and has backed numerous bills threatening Alaska's natural resources. We do not support Kevin McCabe for House District 30.