THIS TIME, A NON-DEMOCRAT FOR U.S. SENATE
The Alaska Democratic Party has done it again: This time, the party has endorsed a nonpartisan, rather than a Democrat, as its candidate for U.S. Senate.
Al Gross received the State Central Committee’s endorsement on Thursday. It was announced Friday without details about how the endorsement was arrived at, who participated, or where the State Central Committee had its vote.
In the past, the party has endorsed no-party candidate Bill Walker for governor in 2014, and no-party candidate Alyse Galvin for U.S. House in 2018.
Gross is running against Sen. Dan Sullivan, and with the Democrats’ solid endorsement, that will likely clear the field for him of any serious primary challenges. He says he has raised over $1 million this quarter, which will give him a leg up on any other Democrat contenders.
“Dr. Gross’s support from the party stems from his strong knowledge of and advocacy for accessible and affordable health care for all Alaskans, robust public education, responsible resource development of both our renewable and non-renewable resources, strong public safety, and the economic well-being and welfare of both rural and urban Alaska,” the party said in a statement.
No mention was made of why Gross refuses to simply register as a Democrat, rather than run as a quasi-Democrat.
In 2016, Alaska Democrats changed party rules to allow nonaffiliated and undeclared candidates to run in their primary and then proceed to the General Election, where they appear under the Democrats’ label, with a qualifier by their name to indicate they are confused.
Casey Steinau, Alaska Democratic Party chairwoman, called Sullivan a “yes-man for Donald Trump” in the announcement about the party’s support for Gross, who in his thank you to the Alaska Democratic Party said he will work hard to “flip the Senate” and get rid of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
