Dunleavy selects Corrections commissioner as his running mate

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Monday that Nancy Dahlstrom will be his running mate as he seeks reelection this year.

Dahlstrom, a former state legislator from Eagle River who has led the state Department of Corrections under Dunleavy, submitted her resignation as Corrections commissioner on Sunday, according to a statement from Dunleavy’s office.

The campaign announcement came just over a week before the June 1 filing deadline for the August primary. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run as a team under a new elections process approved by voters in 2020. Under that system, the four teams that win the most votes in the primary will advance to the November general election, in which ranked-choice voting will be used to determine the winner.

Alaska’s current lieutenant governor, Republican Kevin Meyer, previously said he would not seek reelection.

Dahlstrom first served in the state House in 2003, a year after she narrowly lost a primary bid for the seat to Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski’s father, newly elected Gov. Frank Murkowski, appointed her to the U.S. Senate after he vacated the seat to take the job of governor. He then appointed Dahlstrom to replace his daughter in the House.

Dahlstrom served in the House until 2010, when she took a job as a military affairs adviser in Gov. Sean Parnell’s administration. But she stayed in the position for just a few weeks, stepping down after critics raised questions about whether her acceptance of the job complied with a provision in the Alaska Constitution that bars lawmakers from taking positions created while they are in office.

The lieutenant governor is largely a ceremonial post. But the office has authority over a few key areas, including the state elections division.