By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO
At our recent Alaska Republican Party state convention, I brought attention to a reality transcending party lines: Alaska operates more like a colony than a state.
This isn’t just rhetoric—it’s a fact grounded in numbers. A staggering 57% of Alaska’s state budget is funded by federal dollars, and over 60% of our land is owned and controlled by the federal government.
Colonialism is not just about funding; it’s about control. Instead of Alaska realizing its potential as the greatest natural resource development state in the nation, we’ve become a microcosm of federal bureaucracy. Unelected government officials wield significant power, making decisions that affect the daily lives of Alaskans, without truly understanding or prioritizing our unique needs.
By definition, a colony is an area controlled politically by a more powerful entity, and Alaska fits this description all too well. This is not a partisan issue—it’s an Alaskan issue.
We need leaders who will stand up for our state’s autonomy, who will push back against this overreach, and who will ensure Alaskans have the final say in what happens on our land and with our resources.
Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, we all share the same stake in Alaska’s future. It’s time to come together and work toward a state that truly reflects the will and needs of its people.
Before I delve deeper into this issue, I want to extend my gratitude to Nancy Dahlstrom for her decision to withdraw from the U.S. Congressional race. Whether or not she realized it, being a “straw woman” in a scheme designed to maintain federal control over Alaska is more the norm than the exception in our political landscape.
Let’s talk about Nancy Dahlstrom’s Trump endorsement.
The harsh truth is that this endorsement wasn’t born out of Trump’s deep understanding or appreciation of Dahlstrom’s political skill. Instead, it was orchestrated by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which reached its long, sinewy arm into Alaska’s political landscape, completely bypassing local wisdom and experience.
They selected a person with an uncertain future.
Why? Because many within the top-tier of the Republican establishment were opposed to Nick Begich representing Alaska in Congress.
This tactic isn’t new—it’s exactly how we ended up with Sarah Palin as our candidate in 2022.
The NRCC manipulated the process then, and we all saw the consequences. Palin was thrust into the race, splitting the vote and paving the way for Mary Peltola’s victory. And where is Palin now? She’s certainly not representing Alaska in Congress, nor is she even present in Alaska politics. We came dangerously close to repeating this mistake with Dahlstrom, whose endorsement was driven more by external interests than by what’s best for Alaska.
The NRCC’s backing of Dahlstrom shouldn’t fool us. Their polling, strategy, and analysts may appear sophisticated, but they are detached from the realities on the ground here in Alaska, where 40% of Republican district committees endorsed Begich. This detachment was further evidenced by the ranked-choice voting strategy used in the 2022 Murkowski campaign for U.S. Senate.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) poured significant resources into Murkowski’s campaign, despite the fact that Murkowski had been censured by the Alaska Republican Party. Murkowski’s opponent, Kelly Tshibaka, had been officially endorsed by the state party. We’ve seen this pattern of ignoring local concerns in favor of top-down control by the D.C. elite in other campaigns as well.
Take 2010, for instance, when Joe Miller defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski in the primary election for U.S. Senate. Murkowski then ran in the general election as a write-in candidate and defeated Miller, thanks to the resources of the NRSC. Once again, the long arm of Washington, D.C., dictated the outcome, favoring the status quo.
We cannot allow federal interests that run contrary to our values to dictate or sabotage our political future. We need to stand firm, demand what’s right for Alaska, and support a candidate who can genuinely represent our interests in Congress.
Alaska has been functioning as a colony since statehood. Despite the many government employees and contractors who benefit from the federal government’s involvement in over 57% of our state’s budget, we continue to overlook the fact that Alaska holds the greatest natural resource development potential in the nation. Y
et, very little of that potential is being realized due to the federal government’s stranglehold—a situation that has persisted since statehood.
It’s time for Alaska’s voters to wake up and make a change. We need leaders in US Congress as well as our state legislature who will fight to end Alaska’s status as a colony and restore our state’s rightful autonomy and prosperity.
Michael Tavoliero is a senior writer at Must Read Alaska.
