Gov. Mike Dunleavy has chosen one Republican over another in the Senate Seat D race on the North Kenai Peninsula. Dunleavy didn’t endorse incumbent Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, who is Republican on paper. The governor chose House Rep. Ben Carpenter, who is challenging Bjorkman for Senate.
Bjorkman joined with the Democrats to create a Democrat-majority coalition and many conservatives don’t trust his political compass. Carpenter is one of the House’s more conservative members.
“Ben has been a consistent conservative voice in the legislature and wants to do the right thing for Alaska,” Dunleavy said. “Like myself, Ben wants Alaska to prosper. He wants to unleash our natural resources, create great schools, and make sure we can turn the lights on with great energy policies. To all my friends on the Kenai Peninsula, please vote for Ben Carpenter on November 5th,” Dunleavy said.
In addition to the two Republicans, a Democrat is on the ballot for Senate Seat D. Notably, Gov. Dunleavy did not ask people to rank Carpenter first and Bjorkman second. He only gave his support to Carpenter.
Earlier this month, Dunleavy made a similar endorsement, when he endorsed Jared Goecker for Senate Seat L for Eagle River, and did not mention incumbent Sen. Kelly Merrick as his second or third choice.
Good start by the Governor. He also needs to campaign in those districts for those candidates and do the behind the scenes work to dry up the funds for these rinos. It’s how DeSantis and Reynolds (Iowa) created a governing body aligned with them. (At least forcing them to vote with them)
It should be one vote for one candidate.
I don’t remember the Constitution saying your vote can be given to another candidate.
Simple process without the modern math.
Then I assume you don’t/wouldn’t vote in the anchorage mayoral runoff? If you voted on the initial ballot, you don’t get a second vote, right?
Part of effectively cleaning out a political rats’ nest is you need to purge the traitors out of your ranks first, then go after the enemy.
Exactly
I am a firm believer that we need to go as far as letting the rats lose to enemy so that next time, we don’t have to fight against an incumbent in the primary. Temporary loss now so that in the next election we get our own in there. That’s what the rinos do to us every time.
No thanks. Ben promotes a state sales tax which unfairly punishes Bush residents that pay much higher costs for groceries, fuel, etc.
He hired Arduin after Dunlevy fired her, thing 2025 is a great plan. Not for me.
Gunner: A fair criticism, but Carpenter’s bill was linked to a mandatory spending cut BEFORE a sales tax. Bjorkman, and presumably the Dem, are in favor of the continuous whacking of the PFD — which is, despite all denials, a TAX on what is rightfully the people’s money, and which violates the legislature’s own law.
FTA: Bjorkman joined with the Democrats to create a Democrat-majority coalition …
This fraud (along with the fraud Ruffridge) needs to get the boot.
Absolutely! Bjorkman is the very definition of RINO as is Ruffridge.
Here’s the show-stopper.
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At alaskapublic.org we see this written on March 30, 2023.
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“Nikiski Republican Rep. Ben Carpenter introduced a bill in the Alaska House that would create a 2% state sales tax… Carpenter’s bill, …is part of a collection of proposals he says would address the state’s long-term fiscal concerns, including a grim oil revenue forecast.”
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Yet another parasite doing his part to tax productive Alaskans into submission so Alaska’s lobbyist-legislator team can continue business in the style to which members have become entitled…
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Best time ever for a sales tax, yeah Ben?
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Stiff productive Alaskans while their economy’s in shambles… while your lobbyist-legislator team spends the state into oblivion?
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Ben’s stupid enough to believe voters are stupid enough to believe anything from him about reducing state spending?
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No… this endorsement of Ben seems all about forcing a sales tax, then an income tax, without a referendum on productive people because a referendum means lots of public conversation, none of it expected to be favorable.
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So, Jesse Bjorkman, now’s the time to speak up. Ben just handed you what it takes to beat him
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And we expect you to use it.
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Yet another parasite doing his part to tax productive Alaskans into submission so Alaska’s lobbyist-legislator team can continue business in the style to which members have become entitled…
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Best time ever for a sales tax, yeah Ben?
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Stiff productive Alaskans with a sales tax while their economy’s in shambles… while your lobbyist-legislator team, accountable to no one except their buyers, spends the state into oblivion?
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Ben’s stupid enough to believe voters are stupid enough to believe anything from him about reducing state spending?
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No… this endorsement of Ben seems all about forcing a sales tax, then an income tax, without a referendum on productive people because a referendum means lots of public conversation, none of it expected to be favorable.
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So, Jesse Bjorkman, now’s the time to speak up. Ben just handed you what it takes to beat him
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And we expect you to use it.
My comprehensive proposal leaves more money in Alaskan’s pockets and actually solves problems. Period. Your rhetoric and name calling is the classic leftist “Shout ‘em down when you have nothing productive to offer” tactic.
Hit a nerve, did we, Ben?
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What specific problems are solved by stiffing productive Alaskans with a sales tax while their economy’s in the toilet, while God knows how many parasites finagle sales-tax exemptions?
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No offense, bro… without a forensic audit of state finances and management practices, neither you or Governor D. has a clue how much money comes in, where it’s stashed, where it goes, how your bloody sales tax fixes a problem which may not even be a problem since no one has the first clue how much money’s actually necessary to run the state.
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In case you haven’t noticed, your half of Alaska’s lobbyist-legislator team is outnumbered 7 to 1 by the lobbyist half, but you haven’t quite ‘splained how exactly your “comprehensive proposal” stops that half, forever, from getting everything their clients paid for.
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No referendum either, just stick it to productive people who don’t lobbyists, public discourse be damned, that’s you, Ben?
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While we humbly beg forgiveness for annoying a Peoples Imperial State Representative, may we respectfully note that it wasn’t us who ran for office promising to fix the world by smacking productive people with a sales tax while the rest of government’s working so hard to wreck their economy?
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So yeah, Ben, the shout’s there, loud and proud, so perceptive of you to notice, and unfortunately for the Ruling Class, from which mindset one so hopes you’ve since departed, it’s not going away, ever. Whole point of “eternal vigilance”, no?
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You got chutzpah to hit back, Ben, so there’s hope for you. Ditch your sales tax schtick, get serious about restoring election integrity (nothing good happens without it) and commissioning an outside forensic audit of state finances and management practices, so you (and we) can figure out, with facts, just what the hell’s going on, what has to happen to fix it, …if in fact it needs fixing.
Dunleavy is a back stabber and liar to every person and program and government entity in this state. Every time he opens his mouth he lies. Recall is the only solution to the problem of Dunleavy. Don’t believe a thing he says.
Anchorage Republican Women’s Club endorsed Ben Carpenter early on and have been working with him to defeat Borkman. We, as a Republican entity, are tired of working hard to elect what we think are conservative Republicans and then they go to Juneau and put democrats in charge by joining them to allow more democrats than republicans to create a majority. It is unbelievable to me the number of republicans in Kenai area supporting Borkman! I truly do not think they clearly understand what he did when he joined the democrat coalition in the senate. He most certainly is not touting that effort. If you have friends or family in Kenai please let them know the real conservative us Ben Carpenter! As a matter of fact Ben has a fundraiser tonight in Kenai and wold love to see you there!
Ben’s biggest idea is a state sales tax.
Yeah!
RINO.
NeoCon.
UniParty.
Carpenter achieves more in his spare time than Jesse does throughout an entire session in Juneau. Jesse heads to Juneau, pushing his token bills to stroke his ego, yet brings nothing new to the table—just the same old story. He avoids talk shows because he gets torn apart by those who see through his act.
Jessie bjorkman is/was a union rep for the NEA teachers union. He is about as conservative as Murkowski.
Good solid choice , that’s because Jesse Bjorkman is a total RINO , come on people, think about it, he’s a school teacher, a typical go along to get along clown who lives by no real solid values, he himself wants to live off the governmet tax dollar from cradle to grave… Ben Carpenter is in Politics for the Right reasons, he can’t be bought , and he is looking for real solid constructive change, like I said earlier Bjorkman would gladly rot on the vine in Juneau for decades just to live off the tax payers dime, he could care less if anything constructive ever gets done, he’s your A typical Government Parasite who sucks the blood out of people! Carpenter should win this easily if people really do their homework on what’s wrong with Government , especially in this state!!
Well Jesse did beat Dunleavy’s sidekick, Tuckerman Babcock. You folks want to really think that Ben is any different from Tuckerman? No needs these far-right individuals that don’t want to work with others.
So Bob , so with your mindset our State and Country would be bankrupt and over run by Socialist Lunatics in record time, so I guess your totally fine with government waste and total disfunction and corruption as I see it , ya ya , that’s really working smart lol!
Red flag warning – Senator Bjorkman’s won’t support the Kenai Peninsula School District releasing salary information. Ben Carpenter has my vote. I just read that Jesse Bjorkman refuses to disclose the salary he’s receiving from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. A Senator who avoids call-in radio shows and withholds information from public records requests is a serious red flag. There’s also too much evidence pointing to him being influenced by his campaign donors. That’s not the kind of leadership we need.
‘www.facebook.com/share/wKKmatduRW1jLjNB/
Red flag-
Bjorkman was on thr radio program Sound Off Monday morning. The talk show host has repeatedly called Bjorkman names and badmouthed him, but Jessie had the courage to be on his talk show.
He stated he is on leave of absence from his teaching job and is currently receiving no salary.
When Bjorkman became Senator, his actions and decisions became fair game for public scrutiny. If Bjorkman can’t answer questions on a simple radio show fully and truthfully, does that make him a leader? And if he can’t handle the heat on Facebook—where he’s busy blocking Kenai Peninsula residents with valid questions—what makes him worthy of handling the heat in Juneau? Alaskans deserve leaders who can stand up and face tough questions, not hide behind flashy ads paid for by the NEA.
Despite all his grandstanding, Bjorkman hasn’t secured endorsements from any of Alaska’s key Republican leaders. If he were really the “true Republican” he claims to be, wouldn’t figures like Nick Begich, Governor Dunleavy, or Kelly Tshibaka—President Trump’s former campaign manager—be backing him?
Instead, he’s cozied up to unions and the NEA. They must know something we don’t about Bjorkman, and that’s telling.
I also have to question the maturity of a Senator (and Teacher!) who blocks people he knows well on Facebook just because they ask tough questions—questions that are public record in other parts of the country.
Gunnar , and that sounds totally odd or bogus to me, Seriously who in the World has that kind of a flexibility to take a leave off a job for that length of time in order to start a political career that could last for decades, only a unethical teacher or some other public sector parasite could create such a mirage like that in a effort to hoodwink the hard working Alaskans who all are really working , the
Tax
Payers
who pay all the bills, I personally don’t believe much of anything this Bjorkman clown says any more, I seen a older debate of him online and he gets flustered really easy when asked even the simplest of questions , I don’t trust this guy at all! He is getting some compensation some how , other wise he would release all his records voluntarily.