The Alaska State Capitol on March 25, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
Surprise announcements by candidates for the Alaska Legislature are prompting a last-minute scramble ahead of Saturday’s deadline to run for state office.
Rep. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage, is abandoning his reelection bid and running for the Senate. He is challenging Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, for a seat representing Sand Lake and West Anchorage. McKay said in a phone interview Thursday that he is frustrated with the bipartisan supermajority that makes up 85% of the Senate.
“There are 11 Republicans and nine Democrats on that body, and yet Democrats control the majority of the committee chairs,” he said.
If elected, McKay said he would be open to joining a bipartisan coalition, “but only on the condition that Republicans hold the committee chairs.” Republican Liz Vázquez also ran for that position.
McKay’s move triggers a two-step of sorts in Alaska: While running for Senate, former Republican Sen. Mia Costello is running for McKay’s House seat representing southwest Anchorage. McKay says she met with Costello “a couple of months ago” and “agreed upon a plan for her to return to the Legislature.”
“So today we executed that plan,” he said. “Senator. Costello represented most of this district before, so she is well known in the area. “I think it will be easy for him to win the election to House (District) 15.”
Costello did not immediately respond to a phone call or text message Thursday afternoon. He will face Democrat Denny Wells, who lost to McKay by nine votes, in 2022.
And there are more changing pieces in the Interior. Republican Sen. Click Bishop said he is not seeking reelection to a seat that represents much of the Interior, including West Fairbanks, the Alaska and Richardson Highways and villages along the Yukon, Tanana, Nenana and Copper rivers.
In a statement emailed to reporters Wednesday, Bishop said, “The time is right to prioritize and focus on family matters over the next two years.”
But Bishop leaves the door open to running for higher office once those two years are up. He said he is not done with public service yet and that addressing the state’s problems “requires taking on a more important role than serving in the (L)legislature.”
Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, is running for bishop, as is Fairbanks North Star County Assembly Speaker Savannah Fletcher, an independent. Cronk’s decision to run for Senate leaves no candidates running for House District 36, which represents much of the Interior, as of Thursday afternoon.
In Ketchikan, Rep. Dan Ortiz said Wednesday he will resign after a decade in office. He told public radio station KRBD that the decision followed a doctor’s recommendation to reduce stress.
“I could keep running and I can keep serving. But, you know, with some of the revelations through some blood tests and things like that, there’s a chance that a chronic condition could develop that I don’t want to develop,” Ortiz told KRBD.
Even as an independent who was part of bipartisan coalitions, Ortiz held off his conservative rivals in a district that consistently voted Republican in state elections. That makes the race for House District 1, which includes Ketchikan, Wrangell, Whale Pass and Coffman Cove, key to control of the state House.
Republican Jeremy Bynum, a member of the town assembly, is campaigning for the seat. His fellow Assemblywoman Grant EchoHawk, an independent, said in a text message Thursday that he, too, will return to the race after Ortiz announced his departure.
The deadline to apply is June 1 at 5 pm. The nonpartisan primary election is scheduled for August 20. Up to four candidates can advance to the general election ballot.
Eric Stone covers state government, tracking the Alaska legislature, state politics and their impact on all Alaskans. Contact him at estone@alaskapublic.org.
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