About one-third of Alaska’s legislators could be new to their job next year as multiple incumbents have decided to retire or seek higher office.
The candidate filing deadline for the Aug. 16 statewide primary election was June 1.
In addition to the state Senate president, Soldotna Republican Peter Micciche, and Senate Democratic minority leader Tom Begich, of Anchorage, eight other legislative incumbents have decided it is time to retire or take a break from elected office.
In addition to those 10 who decided not to seek reelection, eight more are leaving their seats to run for governor or the congressional office of the late Don Young or are state House members making a run at the state Senate.
All 40 House seats will be on this year’s ballot, though six will be uncontested races.
Of the 20 Senate districts, only one is uncontested on the ballot — Juneau Democratic Sen. Jesse Kiehl has no opponent for his second term.
Both of Wrangell’s two legislators — Rep. Dan Ortiz, of Ketchikan, and Sen. Bert Stedman, of Sitka — have opponents in their reelection bids.
Ortiz, who is not affiliated with a political party but caucuses with House majority mostly led by Democrats, was first elected in 2014. His opponents include Republican Jeremy Bynum, of Ketchikan, and Shevaun Meggitt, of Wrangell, who also does not list any party on her candidacy filing.
“Technically, you could say I’m a libertarian constitutionalist. So, that would probably par more for Republican on the conservative side,” she said in an April interview with the Ketchikan Daily News.
Meggitt, who has lived in Wrangell about four years and works as a pilot for an international air cargo company, said her biggest issues are “medical tyranny”— taking away people’s liberties, such as for not getting a COVID-19 vaccination — and ensuring that the Legislature pays larger Permanent Fund dividends.
Stedman’s lone opponent is Mike Sheldon, of Petersburg. Both are registered Republicans. Stedman defeated Sheldon two years ago, 64% to 36%.
Sheldon’s 2020 campaign included a pledge for a larger dividend, as does this year’s campaign. He also supports the measure that will be on the November general election ballot to convene a convention to rewrite the Alaska Constitution.
Of the contested races on the primary ballot, only one — a House district in Fairbanks — has more than four candidates. In that one, the top four vote-getters will advance to the November general election. In the other races, all of the primary candidates will advance to the next stage under Alaska’s new voting system that sends the top four vote-getters in the primary to the general election.
In the November election, voters will rank the candidates by order of preference. The counting will continue as candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and one candidate emerges with support from a majority of voters.
Because of a recent court decision, there are no longer limits on what an individual can give to candidates or to non-party groups.
The Alaska Senate currently has 13 Republicans and seven Democrats, although the Republican caucus is split between large-dividend advocates and more fiscally cautious legislators. That dividend divide has forced Senate Republican leadership to count on Democrats’ votes to pass the state budget.
This year’s payout to Alaskans will be $3,200 per person, almost three times the amount of last year’s $1,114 PFD. The larger payment was funded by high oil prices filling the state treasury after years of revenue deficits that drained billions of dollars from savings.
The House currently has 21 Republicans, 15 Democrats and four independents, but two of the Republicans caucus with the Democrats and independents, giving the group tenuous control of the House.
This year’s legislative session ended within the 121-day constitutional meeting limit but prior years have been grueling, marked in some cases by divisive special sessions over the PFD and state budget. There have been 15 special sessions since 2015, four of them last year.
Several of the incumbents who opted against seeking reelection cited family considerations, including Micciche and Anchorage Republican Rep. Sara Rasmussen. Rasmussen said her young family previously relocated to Juneau to be with her during session. But she said her son started kindergarten this year so her family stayed in Anchorage and she commuted back and forth.
“I felt like the best thing to do was just to prioritize my family at that point,” she said.
Democratic state Rep. Adam Wool, of Fairbanks, and Republican state Sen. Josh Revak, of Anchorage, are running for U.S. House. Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka, of Wasilla, is running for governor, looking to unseat Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Five House members are running for state Senate, including Democratic Rep. Matt Claman, who is challenging Republican Sen. Mia Costello in Anchorage; Democratic Rep. Geran Tarr, in a race with three other candidates, including Democratic Anchorage assembly member Forrest Dunbar; and Republican Reps. Kelly Merrick and Ken McCarty, both from the Eagle River area and running in the same Senate race.
The August primary also includes races for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor.
There are 20 candidates for U.S. Senate, including Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Republican Party-endorsed challenger Kelly Tshibaka.
The U.S. House race drew 31 candidates by the June 1 deadline for a full two-year term, 24 of whom also are among the 48 candidates in the special primary election on Saturday to fill the remaining months of Rep. Young’s term until January 2023.
In addition to Dunleavy, candidates for governor on the August ballot include Democrat Les Gara, former Gov. Bill Walker, Kurka and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, running as a Republican.
This story includes reporting from the Ketchikan Daily News and the Alaska Beacon.
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