Spotted at Alaska Family Council banquet: At the Dennis Prager soiree for Alaska Family Council on Saturday, just a few legislators were in the crowd, including Rep. Ben Carpenter, Rep. Kevin McCabe, Sen. Mia Costello, and Sen. Mike Shower. Also a couple of statewide candidates: Nick Begich for Congress in sport coat and Kelly Tshibaka for U.S. Senate in a long red gown. Sharon Jackson, running for State House for Eagle River, was present, and Mayor Dave Bronson and Assemblyman Randy Sulte were also spotted. Gov. Mike Dunleavy was sitting up front.
Charlie Pierce heads to Kodiak: Pierce, who is running for governor as a Republican, will be in Kodiak for the Crab Fest. After that, he and Vonnie will head to Wasilla for a fundraiser.
Daniel Volland, Insta-fake candidate: The 12th seat on the Anchorage Assembly is the race that is now underway, and the chatter is about Daniel Volland, the optometrist who moved to Alaska a few years ago, and then immediately began working on the committee with Assemblyman Chris Constant to carve out another Assembly seat for downtown Anchorage. He is the candidate that the Left is backing, including the leftists on the Assembly. We did an analytic dive into his Instagram account, which boasts over 73,000 followers, even though it’s kind of a “meh” account. We discovered that at least a third of his followers are fake, which typically means the account has purchased followers.
Candidates are:
- Phillips, Robin – moderate
- Hotch, Tasha – liberal
- Volland, Daniel – liberal
- Forbes, Rob – moderate
- Baker, Cliff – moderate
- Taylor, Stephanie – moderate
In case you were wondering if you’re in the downtown municipal district for the 12th seat, here’s the new map for the 12th seat election, which ends June 21 and is mail-in only for the people living in this district, which is heavily liberal.
Les Gara blames Tucker Carlson for Buffalo murders: Les Gara, running for governor as a Democrat, blamed news analyst Tucker Carlson for the shooting in Buffalo, N.Y. “The racist murders in Buffalo are heartbreaking. Leaders should be role models. @TuckerCarlson speaks the kind of hate that finds its way to people who act on it.” And then, the money line from Gara: “People with a podium have a duty to speak unity, not the kind of hate that dangerous people act on.” Gara was silent on the matter when in 2018 Carlson’s home was surrounded by a mob of leftist terrorists.
Walker still spellbound by Obama: Bill Walker, running for governor for the third time, recalled his time on Air Force One with President Obama, talking about climate change and such. And then he criticized Gov. Mike Dunleavy for not going out to JBER to meet with President Joe Biden, when Biden was on his way to Korea, stopping for fuel in Anchorage:
“And fast forward to today when Governor Dunleavy passed up the best opportunity to meet with President Biden on his trip through Alaska and fight to get the Willow project going that Alaska really needs right now to jumpstart our economy,” Walker said.
We’re not sure Dunleavy would want to meet with Biden, whose approval rating is in the low 20s in Alaska.
Polling: Lake Research Partners, in a poll sponsored by candidate Les Gara, shows Dunleavy has a +24 lead over Gara and a whopping +30 advantage over Walker:
Murkowski celebrates birthday: Sen. Lisa Murkowski turned 65 today. She shared a photo of herself as a child. What a doll! If she wins reelection this year to the U.S. Senate, Murkowski will be a spry 71 for her next campaign.
Endorsements: The Alaska chapter of the National Education Association (NEA-Alaska) announced its endorsement of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, spurning the Democrat in the race, Pat Chesbro. In making the endorsement, NEA-Alaska President Tom Klaameyer commended Murkowski’s steadfast commitment to public education in Alaska. An affiliate of the National Education Association, NEA-Alaska represents more than 11,000 public school employees, support staff and retirees statewide. In 2021, The New York Post wrote that NEA fought parents who opposed teaching Critical Race Theory. The NEA also supports the 1619 Project of the New York Times, which advances racist CRT ideology and is now widely used in schools to teach children to be racist. The NEA passed a resolution claiming it is “reasonable and appropriate” to include CRT in curriculum — and pledged to create “a team of staffers” to help teachers “fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric,” and says it supports “an already-created, in-depth study that critiques white supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, racism, patriarchy … capitalism … and other forms of power and oppression,” according to the NEA website.
Tali Birch Kindred, wife of Judge Joshua Kindred and daughter of the late Sen. Chris Birch, has endorsed Gov. Bill Walker. Tali is an oil industry attorney. She applied to fill her father’s seat when he died, but was ultimately not chosen by Gov. Dunleavy, nor elected by her district. Her husband, the federal judge, is a Trump appointee.
Correction on Palin: Must Read Alaska said Sarah Palin, running for Congress, was in Savannah, Georgia for a fundraiser but it turns out she was there to campaign for David Perdue for governor of Georgia. Perdue is lagging in the polls. Donald Trump, who endorsed Perdue, has begun to distance himself as Perdue’s chances seem slim.
A clip of her comments to the crowd, as she is introduced by Perdue, who says that because there is only one seat for Alaska in Congress, it makes it a more powerful seat than the two in the Senate.
Nick Begich fundraiser: In case you missed an earlier chance to meet Nick Begich, running for Congress, Joe and Tyra Chandler are hosting a fundraiser on May 26, 5:30-7 pm in Anchorage.
Hate mail winner: Some of Sarah Palin’s fans are really intense. Here’s one that is typical:
