Democrat Cliff Groh, who served one term in the Alaska House before being unseated by Republican Rep. David Nelson, filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to seek election to Alaska State House District 18.
The history shows a lot of seesawing in the seat. Nelson beat indicted Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux in 2020, when the district was known as District 15. Then, Groh bounced Nelson from his seat in 2022. But in the presidential election year of 2024, Nelson was able to win the seat back — by the thinnest of margins.
The district includes Government Hill, North Muldoon, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and the northern parts of downtown Anchorage, Falrview, and Mountainview.
“North Anchorage working families deserve a representative who works just as hard as they do. we can’t afford to have someone who just sits on the sidelines. l’m committed to fighting crime, reducing homelessness, fully supporting our students and teachers, and making sure that we do everything we can to keep the prices for basic necessities like energy as low as possible,” said Cliff Groh, although he has done little since being unelected, other than strategize a comeback.
Groh, 71, outperformed then-US House Rep. Mary Peltola. who had the best Democratic statewide performance in a presidential election since Mark Begich in 2008, Groh pointed out in his press release. She still lost statewide.
“This result represents the single biggest overperformance in a head-to-head Democratic-Republican matchup across all State House candidates in Alaska in 2024,” Groh stated.
Groh was in Juneau in recent weeks to strategize with the Alaska Democratic Party about the various targeted seats that the party will focus on.
Groh is a lifelong Alaskan who was born and raised in Anchorage. While he was a staffer for the Alaska Legislature, he worked on issues relating to the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, and now refers to himself as a primary author of the dividend. He is a lawyer.
Nelson, who is 27 years old, may be in one of the seats that the Democrats feel most confident they can take, and one that Republicans will need to fiercely defend.
Very unlike the (D)ems to throw up an old white guy to run for office. Unless they plan to Lucy Van Pelt and snatch the football away from him as he begins to kick…