By ZACK GOTTSHALL
When Region 2 Director Ryan Sheldon urged Republicans to “learn the game” after recent local election losses in Fairbanks, Palmer, and Ketchikan, he was not wrong — but he did not go far enough. The problem is not Ranked-Choice Voting or off-cycle elections. It is that the Alaska Republican Party has developed a crisis of courage.
We face a growing unwillingness among elected officials and Party leadership alike to confront wrongdoing, to enforce standards, or to stand firm when it matters most. Too many Republican officeholders — city, state, and federal — have drifted from the values they campaigned on, and too often, Party leadership stays silent.
When Representation Loses Its Backbone
Across Alaska, voters who identify as conservative feel increasingly unrepresented. They watch Republicans campaign as fiscal conservatives, defenders of liberty, and advocates for resource development — then compromise those same values once elected.
At the federal level, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s repeated breaks from core conservative positions have left voters disillusioned. At the state level, Republican legislators have joined coalitions that empower liberal leadership and increase state spending. And at the local level, some so-called conservatives have supported ordinances that expand bureaucracy or weaken law enforcement.
Each of these choices distances us from the Party’s foundation: limited government, fiscal restraint, and individual freedom. And each time the Alaska Republican Party chooses not to speak up, it reinforces the perception that principles are negotiable.
A Party Afraid of Its Own Reflection
We have grown too comfortable with excuses. Every loss is blamed on ballot design, mail-in voting, or the election calendar. Those challenges are real, but they do not explain why our message no longer resonates. The harder truth is that our Party no longer reflects the people we claim to serve.
The welder, the small-business owner, the working mom — they don’t see their values in a Party that tolerates complacency, indecision, or internal favoritism. We talk about accountability but rarely apply it where it counts.
Grassroots Requires Grit
We like to say we are a grassroots movement, but real grassroots work is not comfortable. It is cold, inconvenient, and personal. It is about showing up.
My wife Heather lived that during her campaign — spending long hours in the community, knocking doors, listening to people who did not always agree. That is the kind of authentic connection Alaskans respect, and it is exactly what the Party needs to rebuild trust.
Leadership Without Accountability
The deeper problem is not strategy; it is culture. When Republican leaders break faith with their voters and still enjoy the Party’s protection, something is deeply wrong.
We hide behind Reagan’s “Eleventh Commandment” — Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican — as if accountability were betrayal. But Reagan’s intent was not to protect misconduct; it was to prevent division while standing firm on values. We have twisted that principle into silence.
True unity does not mean protecting those who fail the platform — it means restoring integrity, so voters can trust the Party again.
Rebuilding with Integrity
If Alaska Republicans want to win, we must earn back credibility. That means calling out our own when necessary — respectfully, but publicly. It means offering training, mentorship, and structure to new conservative candidates instead of recycling the same names every cycle. And it means measuring loyalty not by titles, but by performance.
We don’t need more meetings or slogans. We need leaders willing to do the hard work — to tell the truth, make changes, and demand better.
Time to Lead Again
Ryan Sheldon is right that organization matters. But organization without integrity is motion without meaning.
The Alaska Republican Party was built by men and women who believed in work, accountability, and moral conviction. Those values shaped this state’s independence and strength. If we cannot embody them inside our own ranks, we will not inspire anyone beyond them.
This is not about blame — it is about courage. It is about finding our way back to the principles that made us who we are. Alaska’s future deserves leaders willing to stand for truth, uphold integrity, and lead with conviction.
Zack Gottshall is a retired U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, former Vice Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, a Commissioner on the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, and a small business owner in Anchorage, Alaska.