Alaska Democrats appear to have found their challenger in the 2026 US Senate race. Ann Diener, a Democrat and newspaper sales executive at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, filed to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who has served since being elected in 2014.
Diener moved to Alaska in 2021 and was involved in Democratic politics through the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Democrat Les Gara in 2022. With no other Democrat yet stepping forward and no signs of a late entry from former Rep. Mary Peltola, who is currently tied up in a lawsuit involving the death of her husband Buzzy, Diener looks to be the party’s default standard-bearer.
On her campaign website, Diener emphasizes themes of economic development and community-building. “We need to work hard to serve Alaskans and those who move to our state,” she writes, adding that Alaska must “create win-wins and care about creating flourishing local communities” amid concerns over population decline.
However, parts of Diener’s biography stand out for their unusual tone. She describes her political experience as including an effort to “defeat the overlord who had attempted to harm my planet” and claims to have stopped an attack on “our start (sic) system.” She often refers to herself as “we.”
In a section titled “Biography of Our Work for Sovereignty,” she pledges to uphold “Constitutionalism with Oversight against all Malfeasance.”
In comments about her political role models, Diener lists former US Sen. Dianne Feinstein (misspelled as “Diane” on her website), while also promoting a platform that mixes traditional Democrat priorities like workers’ rights and housing with a broad focus on foreign policy and energy. She also advocates for increased tourism promotion and attracting outside talent to Alaska. She claims to have vast foreign policy experience.
On her Ballotpedia profile she says, “We need to improve our state and encourage people to see that Alaska has a thriving future. This is something that is currently not happening, and it is time to elect someone with fresh eyes on the challenges we face. Coming from California, where we faced overdevelopment I stood against, I can work for Alaskans to encourage positive growth with constituents interest in mind. I will encourage direct communication and put your needs first. My goal is to engage everyone in an interactive way online, in person and over the phone.”
Her website features photos of protest signs, such as one that says, “No Justice No Peace.”
Diener has never run for elected office before and her professional background is in advertising sales. She was born in Colorado and got a college degree from San Diego State University, according to Ballotpedia, where she has completed the candidate profile and survey. She has a campaign website, a Facebook page, a campaign page on X, and some other social media tie downs.
Barring a last-minute entrant, Diener will face Sen. Sullivan, who is seeking his third term. The Alaska Democratic Party has yet to formally endorse a candidate, but Diener’s early filing in December 2024 and lack of alternatives suggest she may be their nominee by default.
If she comes here from California, why did she leave? Look under the hood before you accept this person as a someone good for this state. What did they contribute to the State they left?
Sounds to me like she contributed by leaving.
Has anybody contacted API to let them know she’s out running around unsupervised?
From Mystery Land to the U.S. Senate for Alaska. No ticket punching through Alaskan politics. No known history.
No, thanks…………..
“Ticket punching through Alaskan politics.” That’s a pretty misguided and pathetic proving track. How about asking what has she accomplished in the private sector? Where one’s accomplishmets are measured by tangible results in a competitive arena. Where one’s credentials mean less than what they can actually do. Where true accountability exists.
Fitting for Ds…. 🤢🤮
ANOTHER NEWSMINER CUCK!
Another socialist Californi-ite!1.No thanks.
I thought Poltela was running? Or is she the Socialist pick for Govenor?
Petola has her hands full, trying to sue for her husband’s death..
From what I know of lawsuits, 99.9% percent of the time is spent waiting for the courts to make decisions.
Let’s bring back the “Bear-Doctor”. He was great. I assume he is tanned, ready and rested in Santa Barbara.
Was not happy under Democrat rule in CA, comes to AK and wants to ruin it. These people are not only idiots with little to no moral compass, they are a danger to the health of the Republic. Run them out of town, your not welcome here in Alaska, frankly in this country. Thier beliefs match nothing representative of this country’s founding documents or ideals. Godless, socialists with a desire to eliminate personal freedoms.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
No way this loser is a real candidate.
Well, glad she’s willing to take time off from her mission to fight the ‘galactic overlords’ or whatever. Where does the left find these people?
The left doesn’t find these people, they MAKE these people. Came here 2021, wow a real sourdough.
The “real sourdough” factor is a logical fallacy. Someone with the right ideology, countenance and experience could make a great politician regardless of length of time lived here. On the other hand, people having lived in Alaska since before statehood (like me) could be devout communists. Point: length of residency is irrelevant.
Sweet Baby Jeezus! She looks like road-kill. She ain’t a looker, that’s for sure!
Rush Limbaugh said that feminism was created to allow unattractive women to advance. The most important issue is not what lies on the surface but underneath. Alaska has been quasi-socialist for years, especially with the pipeline. Free goodies attract a lot of people. Also, people come to Alaska to find something or run away from something. Quite the mix.
Close. Rush said It was to allow unattractive women better access to the mainstream of society.
What, exactly, do you mean by “unattractive women?” There are many pretty women with unattractive personalities. Conversely, there are many homely women with beautiful souls.
Very true statement. UAF has attracted untold numbers of unattractive lesbians for decades. All the way back to the early 60’s. The word gets out. Now, they run the UAF. Juneau is another example. All of the bureaucrats in every department in government is the result of greenies coming up from the lower 48 looking for an easy government job after the pipeline was built. And they all drive cars and take far away vacations courtesy of Big Oil. They are now retiring thanks to decades of the infusion of oil royalties to the state. Amazon irony about these left-wing people.
We’ve got a couple of good-lookers from the Valley in the Legislature who ran on conservative values……….and who turned coat during their first terms in office.
Looks has absolutely nothing to do with it.
I and friends voted for a slick “conservative” politician who turned coat and voted with the Dems and RINOs to override Gov. Dunleavy’s veto on the education funding bill. Indeed, looks have nothing to do with it. However, integrity does. Never again!
A good shower with disinfectant, head and body lice treatment, and an image maker might benefit her aspirations. SNORT!
But the non-lezzies will always find some scraggly-haired, pot-smoking hippie dude who lives in a dry cabin and works a few weeks of the year. Alaska has plenty of these non-producers still hanging out.
We used to call them “feedbags” back in the day. Snicker.
Geezus. What a forking despicable thing to say
She is accepting donations through ActBlue, red flag!
Marxist from Cali who refers to herself as “we”?
“defeat the overlord who had attempted to harm my planet” WOW she sounds like a true dimlibby nut-job, send that fool back to california!
Yup.
Another LibTard, ProgComm, Unborn baby killer, and minor genital mutilator.
No thanks.
Hard pass.
Well, why wouldn’t we want someone who’s been in Alaska for 4 years representing us in the Senate?
Please, continue to advertise that you came from CA, Peltola 2.0!
I don’t see how democrats in our great state could even get behind her. Feinstein as a role model, and opening up to other newcomers. Sounds like she’s very socialist. Not democrat
Another Democrat thinking they can turn Alaska blue, Only been here 4 years And thinks she is Worthy? Not going to happen
“Coming from California, where we faced overdevelopment I stood against”….High Speed Rail, Low cost housing for burned out Pacific Palisades, 15 minute cities… which over development….. building around Malibu or Marin County? Quick learner to pick up on Alaska history and politics. How many decompression trips to Hawaii in these last 4 years?
A Democrat from California….no thank you !!!
Her website features photos of protest signs, such as one that says, “No Justice No Peace.”
Not bad; but, I do recommend uprooting trees that don’t produce. You know, no free rides.
Jesus. no free rides? So you oppose the PFD?
Yep – bad idea! We didn’t apply for the first one – but hey, as long as the State is handing out free money, we long-time Alaskans should get some too in exchange for our mineral rights. SNORT!
Good to hear this Sally come lately is running for one of premier political positions in Alaska. Maybe she solicit the “Geriatric No King People” along with “Penis People” to campaign for her.
They are all of same mindset.
So a nobody with no name recognition or accomplishments. Nothing but the (D), but for leftists, that is enough.
Sapper. No it’s not enough. She is grossly unqualified and I’m a liberal.
Of course she just moved up here from California…
‘http://anndiener.com/defeating-the-aliens-who-came-here-in-1999/
LMAO
Wow! Hinky, looking at the anndiener.com site, it is clear this person is NOT well! Apparently she’s serious (!) about fighting off space aliens?
Now we know why the Newsminer is a
looney tune left-wing rag with many other names used by subscribed readers. Never heard of this woman, but with Trump involved she is going to end up at the bottom of the bird cage along with her newspaper.
Since she refers to herself as a we, WE then know she must be:
1. LGBTQ corrected, probably lesbian, or worse;
2. Schizophrenic with multiple personalities;
3. Both.
I like #3.
LOL
Another Left Coast Marxist carpetbagger.
Damn, this state is FULL of them!
By the way, Suzanne, how do you know that this person is really a woman (the photograph of they/them/zhey/zhem is completely unhelpful in that regard). Are you a credentialed doctor or biologist?
Jefferson, I had not thought about that since she refers to herself as a “we.” Thank you for raising the question. – sd
Suzanne, if you had similarly misgendered zher/zhim/zhey in California, you would be going to prison right now, you know.
Wonder if Gara regrets bringing this woman up who will only hurt the Alaska Dem party?
I’m originally from CA. Left to find a work in Texas. Never looked back, other than to see family. California is only useful as and example of what NOT to do. Where I lived, there was a very ” connected” family of the last name ” Diener”they considered themselves to be nobillity, kinda like Murkowskis, only with less to show for it. Not as successful in embezzlement from the public. Wonder if this is one of them
If she worked for my newspaper, Newsminus, then I’m onboard. We (me, myself and I) love her.
Would she donate to my blog if I wrote a favorable column about her?
Maybe an opened bottle of Jack Daniels.
😃
Having moved here in 2021, she knows it all! Certainly she’s earned a bachelor of arts in applied deception and is nicely oiled and ready play!
Ah, yes, she’s “nicely oiled and ready to play!
Just what we need a transplant from California and I’m not so sure trans is the word we wanna see.
She probably still has a property in California and the only reason why she’s here is to give Sullivan a hard time.
I thought we got rid of all of these “types” after Dermutt got canned at the NM.
Dermutt also got canned by the ADN. Probably why he’s always begging for donations. With all of the chincy Democrats who read his blog, coupled with Dermutt’s low writing production due to some serious brain fog, it’s a wonder he has the energy to continue his attacks on productive Republicans.
One silver lining….now at least we won’t have to listen to the drivel about “Dan Sullivan being from Ohio”. He has been here a bunch longer than “We from California”, who claims the entire planet as her own and throws nonsensical platitudes around.
LOL …. Ohio Dan vs. California Ann.
Sullivan still has my vote! He’s better than Murkowski by a long shot.
That’s not a high bar
Well good this lunatic brought everyone wide awake. Got the blood flowing Jefferson. Good to see all you people have a pulse. Keep it up.
That is a damn fine 5 o’clock shadow.
Alaska politics is parody at this point.
Great description of this state’s politicians. The only thing that ever came to me was sh!t show.
She says she is against “overdevelopment.” How much development in Alaska would she permit, if any?
She says she wants to “work hard to serve people who move to ‘our’ state.” How about working hard to keep people from fleeing our state?
Dang. Did she crawl out of the woods behind her?
I have seen prettier grizzlies.
I am going to double check my sidearm.
You know, after reading all of these comments, I’m starting to feel sorry for this old broad.
Yeah! Yeah! You must have just stumbled out of the alders, Jose. Only the naive are stuck in the world of social pretense and appearance.
It’s part and parcel of the MAGA movement: women in politics must have sex appeal, or they get nowhere.
…oh wait…maybe it’s not just MAGA…
Beware Alaskans as the Soros funded election season is a freight train headed our way. This he/she may be a ‘false flag’ but I guarantee you awful things will happen if Alaskans aren’t vigilant. The globalists are like bot flies on our wildlife that have gotten themselves embedded and we can’t rid ourselves of. From the Tykes on Bikes strange an ridiculous idea of woke Anchorage mayor to the corruption of Princess Lisa Murkowski liar who plays us for fools we need some sheep dip asap.
This is typical. She moves here from CA and in a few years wants to be in politics and run the show. We’ve seen what’s gone on in the other western states and offer a big no thank you.
It will be interesting to see if Lisa endorses her or Sullivan, or sits this one out
Ann Diener seems like a curious candidate for Senate. She wants to express “Constitutionalism with Oversight against all Malfeasance.” Every Democrat wants this… until the malfeasance is associated with a Democrat.
She wants to encourage “people to see that Alaska has a thriving future.” There is a lot of semantics in that statement. Democrats see “thriving future” as a thriving dependency on the federal government. This is in total contrast to the Trump/Sullivan perspective of a thriving future… prosperity, or more specifically, converting Alaska’s natural resources into wealth. Such a vision is anathema to a Democrat.
And they say that Sasquatch does not exist.
Good grief. Another Californian wanting to use Alaska as a stepping stone toward higher politics. I think we’ve had our fill of them. And what does she know about Alaska?
She wants to increase tourism here? Tourism is a low-paying dirty and noisy industry that makes life unbearable for Alaskan residents. I know this, as I left Juneau specifically to get away from the helicopter noise, the congested streets and smelly garbage dump. The bloated tour ships dump their gray water in what used to be pristine waters of SE Alaska. The tour industries bought up and took over downtown Juneau, selling their trashy jewelry, fur coats and “Alaskan” products made in China.
If a politician promises more tourism, (as if that’s a good thing) you know she’s getting paid to do so.
She has a lot of nerve referring to Alaska as “our state”, when she’s only been here since 2021.
.
Go back to Kalifornia and continue your hostile fight against development down there, we do not need more people up here fighting us in our attempts to develope “OUR” vast state.