Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom is running for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House, challenging Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the 2024 election.
In her campaign announcement on Nov. 14, Dahlstrom dubbed herself “a conservative Republican, law enforcement leader, military and veterans advocate.”
Dahlstrom, 66, has served as lieutenant governor for less than a year. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy tapped her as his running mate in 2022. Before that, she served as commissioner of the Department of Corrections.
Dahlstrom also served in the state House from 2003 to 2010, when she took a newly created job as military affairs adviser in the administration of then-Gov. Sean Parnell. She stayed in that position 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.
Dahlstrom joins a congressional race that also includes fellow Republican Nick Begich, who ran for the seat in 2022, losing twice to Peltola — in a special election to replace longtime Rep. Don Young and in the regularly scheduled November election.
The Alaska Republican Party has yet to announce formal endorsements in the race.
Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat is one that national Republicans are eyeing in their quest to keep and widen their control of the chamber in 2024 — it was one of just five in the country to have voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 and a Democrat for House in 2022.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has already begun running ads against Peltola.
Candidates for the U.S. House seat will run under Alaska’s new voting system, which includes an open, nonpartisan primary and ranked-choice general election between the top-four vote-getters. The new system took effect in the 2022 election.
Dahlstrom and Dunleavy easily won election in 2022. The lieutenant governor is largely a ceremonial post, but the office has authority over Alaska’s elections. Since Dahlstrom has been in office for under a year, she has yet to oversee any statewide election, though she will be responsible for overseeing the integrity of the election in which she is running. Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner said Nov. 14 that Dahlstrom would not resign before the election.
If elected, Dahlstrom would be replaced as lieutenant governor by someone selected by the governor.
Dahlstrom lost her first campaign for the state Legislature in 2002, after challenging Lisa Murkowski from the right. Dahlstrom criticized Murkowski’s position on abortion access and support for a statewide income tax. Dahlstrom lost the primary election by only 57 votes, but was soon after appointed to the Legislature to fill the seat vacated by Murkowski — who was appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate in 2003.
Dahlstrom holds degrees in human resources and had worked as a vocational counselor for the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has been the chair of the Eagle River Friends of the National Rifle Association, president of the Birchwood Community Council, and vice president of the Eagle River Republican Women’s Club.
Peltola, the only statewide Democrat representing Alaska, is seen as widely popular in the state and has had broad support from key groups, including labor unions and Alaska Native organizations. As of the end of September, Peltola had more than $1 million in her campaign account.
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