There are 59 races in the Alaska Legislature, but primary competition for only one district — in Fairbanks.
In House District 35, where Rep. Adam Wool is not seeking re-election, five candidates are seeking office, ranging from a former Wool aide to the owner of a Fairbanks body piercing and tattoo shop.
Under Alaska’s new nonpartisan primary, voters will choose only one candidate. The top four vote-getters advance to the general election. In House District 35, one of the five candidates will be eliminated, with the rest moving on to the Nov. 8 general election.
There are four or fewer candidates in every other Alaska House and Senate primary race, which means everyone is likely to be on the general election ballot, unless someone withdraws or there is a strong showing for a write-in candidate.
So the Aug. 16 primary for most Alaska House and Senate races will function as a barometer on how well the different candidates and their campaigns resonate with voters.
There is serious competition in the state legislative races, such as in Senate District P, where two popular Interior candidates are running against each other.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Scott Kawasaki is being challenged by former Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly, a Republican, along with Republican Alex Jaffe.
All three will move on to the general election. Alaska’s new election process eliminates the party primaries, which means that candidates from the same party may run against each other.
House District 35 is different from the other legislative races in 2022. Wool, the incumbent, announced he would not run for another term after serving for eight years, so he could turn his attention to the U.S. House special election. Wool dropped his campaign after collecting less than 2% of the special primary vote to finish the term of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young. He chose not to run in the regular primary election for the next two-year U.S. House term.
Wool’s departure as a representative from House District 35 means that the legislative seat he held for nearly a decade is wide open. The district includes Chena, Ester and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Here is a quick look at the five candidates running in the Aug. 16 primary:
• Ashley Carrick, Wool’s chief of staff, is running as a Democrat. She has worked as a substitute teacher, led the Tanana Valley Watershed Association and served as a senior legislative aide.
“My work as a legislator would be informed first and foremost by my experience working in the fast-paced, fluctuating, and technical environment of the Alaska State Capitol,” Carrick told the News-Miner in June.
• Tim Parker previously was board president of Alaska’s teacher union and is running as an independent. Parker said he will take to Juneau the same enthusiasm he had as a classroom teacher. “We have abundant natural resources, and I’d say that our children are at the top of that list,” Parker said.
• Kevin McKinley, who owns Body Piercing Unlimited & Tattoo in Fairbanks, is running as a Republican. McKinley previously sought local and state elective office but did not advance.
“I am not a quitter,” McKinley told the News-Miner in June. “Some people think that once you lose, you should hang it up. There are not enough business people in the Legislature.”
• Republican Ruben McNeill is a home health care manager new to campaigning and seeking elective office. “The people deserve better than slick no-action politicians speaking out of both sides of their mouth,” McNeill said.
• Kieran Brown, a college student and custodian, is a candidate with the Alaska Constitution Party. “I am running for office because I believe in a better future and to help our fellow Alaskans with their needs, and to hopefully be able to climb the political ladder to the presidency one day,” Brown said.
Under ranked choice balloting, voters in the November general election will list their top choices by order of preference.
If a voter’s No. 1 pick finishes last and is eliminated, the voter’s No. 2 candidate is counted and added to that candidate’s results.
Ranked-choice voting allows for the voters’ other picks to be considered if the first choice is no longer in the running.
