Democratic Alaska gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has hired political consultants whose firms also worked on the successful 2025 New York City mayoral campaign of socialist Zohran Mamdani. Some Democrat voters are saying they “will sit this one out” because of JKT’s connection to Mamdani.
According to Alaska campaign-finance records cited from filings with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, JKT’s campaign paid $165,725 to Debra Schommer Media Group and reported another $93,050 in debt to the firm. The campaign also reported $193,524 in payments to C Plus K, LLC, with Fight Agency listed as a subcontractor. The Anchorage Daily News has independently reported that JKT spent nearly $600,000 on ads, some of which were created by Fight Agency.
The Schommer connection is well documented. The California-based media-planning and buying firm was a major vendor for Mamdani. Campaign-finance records show that Mamdani’s campaign paid Debra Schommer Media Group more than $3 million for television advertising, TV production, and digital advertising. New York City Campaign Finance Board disclosures show large itemized payments to the same firm during the 2025 cycle.
Fight Agency was also closely associated with Mamdani’s campaign. The political communications firm was launched after the 2024 election by Julian Mulvey, Rebecca Katz, and Tommy McDonald. The firm became known for producing Mamdani’s unconventional campaign advertising and social-media strategy, including videos built around affordability and interactions with New Yorkers.
Fight strategist Morris Katz was particularly prominent on Mamdani’s campaign and later worked with Graham Platner, a progressive candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine. Reporting on Katz describes his approach as emphasizing emotionally driven, internet-oriented messaging and candidates who challenge established Democratic politics. The Anchorage Daily News also reported that Kreiss-Tomkins paid Slingshot Strategies, a Brooklyn firm that had consulted for Platner—another link in the same consultant network, separate from Fight.
Kreiss-Tomkins’ campaign describes him as a lifelong Alaskan and former state legislator running on affordability, education, and Alaska’s economy. He represented Sitka-area communities in the Alaska House from 2013 to 2023.
The campaign-consulting relationships do not, by themselves, establish a direct connection between JKT and Mamdani or prove JKT is a socialist. However, the available campaign-finance records document that JKT paid for campaigning services from firms and political consultants associated with Mamdani’s campaign, casting doubt on JKT’s claim reported by Northern Journal: “I’m not an ideological zealot— I never have been.”
JKT said that in the final months before the election, his campaign will be focused on reaching moderate Republicans who are “disillusioned with the Dunleavy era and want change.” However, JKT is already facing issues retaining moderate Democrat votes. “They were big Begich fans, but because of JKT’s connection to Mamdani… they literally said they were going to sit this one out,” a trusted source told Must Read Alaska.
The JKT – Mamdani connection is well-documented and now moderate Democrats are expressing wariness toward Kreiss-Tomkins— the only Democrat candidate in the 2026 Governor’s race— saying they would rather not participate in the election than vote for a potentially socialist governor in Alaska.
