Republican Rep. Louise Stutes was not invited to be part of the Republican-led caucus in the House of Representatives in Juneau. Her years of aligning with Democrats was just a bridge too far and she and Rep. David Eastman were considered the extremes that needed time in the time-out corner.
Unsurprisingly, Stutes, of Kodiak, joined the Democrat minority last week. After leading the Democrat-led majority for years as one of the original Musk Ox Caucus members in 2015-2016, she was not able to establish trust with the Republicans. This is the first time she has been in the minority since 2016.
As she joined the Democrats, they kicked Rep. Zack Fields, an Anchorage Democrat, to the curb as caucus whip, and installed Republican Stutes in the role of rounding up the votes.
Stutes is one of the original Must Ox Caucus of 2016, which were made up of Republicans who caucused with Democrats. While Republican reprobates Paul Seaton, Jim Colver, and Gabrielle LeDoux were booted out of office by voters, and Gary Knopp died in a plane crash, only Stutes, Democrat Neal Foster, and fence-sitting undeclared Bryce Edgmon remain of that group that kept Democrats effectively in control for six years. Foster and Edgmon are now part of the Republican-led majority, but Stutes has officially made her bed with the Democrats, after having been House Speaker for the past two years.
