With just days left before the June 1 candidate filing deadline, Alaska House and Senate races are hinting at big shifts in the state Capitol next year: At least 10 of 60 sitting lawmakers are not running for reelection this fall.
With just days left before the June 1 filing deadline, a growing number of Alaska state legislators are announcing they will not seek reelection, setting the stage for significant turnover in a legislature already facing a scramble because of the redistricting process.
“There’s several legislators that decided not to run again this year. And I just think that highlights the discord and frustration felt by a lot of people down in Juneau,” said Rasmussen. “I feel like at this point, we need to really evaluate if the political setup that we have is working as best as it could for Alaskans, because I think when you lose diversity of views in the Legislature … we’re not producing the best results that we could for what’s in Alaska’s best interest.
“There are some family issues I need to make sure I take care of so I’m going to step out for a little bit while I do that,” she said. “It doesn’t preclude a run in the future, but that’s what I have to do this year.” “In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined that I would be filing paperwork to become a state senator,” Tarr said in a phone interview from Juneau, where she was still working after the legislative session wrapped up last week.“I like to say that being a legislator is like having 18,000 family members and if I’m successful in a Senate race, then it’ll be more like 36,000 family members,” Tarr said.
Lindsay Kavanaugh, director of the Alaska Democratic Party, said the party has been working for a year to recruit legislative candidates, but the delay in redistricting has complicated their efforts. “I don’t know that the party makeup is going to change. What I do hope is that no matter who shows up and whatever letter they have next to their name, they recognize the fact that politics is a team sport, and that nothing can happen if you’re sitting on an island,” Micciche added.
Rebecca Himschoot is an independent candidate from Sitka running for a seat currently held by Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who decided not to run for reelection this year after a decade in the Legislature. That is a view shared by Begich, who said ranked choice voting “will likely lead to a whole lot of new characters” in the Legislature.
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