Alaska Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka today identified her campaign’s regional co-chairs.
Rural: Paulette Schuerch was born in Kotzebue and raised by her grandparents in Noorvik. Schuerch graduated from Kotzebue High School and received a full scholarship from Teck Alaska to attend Alaska Pacific University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree. She has worked for numerous organizations, including the Maniilaq Association, Copper River Native Association, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council. In addition, she served as tribal advisor in Gov. Bill Walker’s administration. She has fought for rural Alaska on the political stage, working for campaigns such as Gov. Tony Knowles, Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. Walker, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in bid.
Interior: Ralph Seekins is the owner and president of Seekins Ford-Lincoln, which he started in 1977 in Fairbanks. He served in the Alaska State Senate from 2003-2006, was Republican National Committeeman from 2008-2016 and a member of the Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees (1990-1994). Ralph served as Gov. Frank Murkowski’s co-chair for his first U.S. Senate race in 1980.
Anchorage: Albert Fogle is the Chair of the Budget and Audit Subcommittee of the Alaska Industrial Development Exchange Authority and Alaska Energy Authority. Fogle is currently the regional sales manager for Moda Health and Delta Dental of Alaska and is also board member and treasurer of Health eConnect, the Health Information Exchange for Alaska. He moved to Alaska while serving in the United States Army as an Infantry team leader and communications operator. His years of active duty service included a tour in Iraq. After his Army discharge in 2007, he attended the University of Alaska Anchorage where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in criminal justice.
Southeast: PeggyAnn McConnochie of Juneau, is a longtime real estate broker and business owner. She is currently a managing partner in ACH Consulting, LLC, and earned the title Distinguished Real Estate Instructor by the Real Estate Educators Association. McConnochie is committed to serving her community through volunteerism at the local, state, and non-profit levels.
Mat-Su Valley: Jesse Sumner is a lifelong resident of the Mat-Su Borough. As president of Sumner Company Homes and partner in Pacific Western Properties, he has been building houses in the Mat-Su for many years. Sumner has served on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly since 2018 and is on the Alaska Real Estate Commission, as well as other nonprofit boards.
“I am honored to have a strong group of Alaskans representing this campaign as co-chairs and I thank them for their support and willingness to help rebuild Alaska. In every corner of our great state, our campaign is giving a voice to real Alaskans. For too long, our views have been ignored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is more concerned about the Washington, D.C. insiders that preserve her political family dynasty. Our campaign is a movement – one that will give Alaskans representation in the Senate that reflects our values. This is a campaign fueled by grassroots enthusiasm and we are excited to keep building that momentum,” Tshibaka said in a statement.
Tshibaka announced in late March that she would be the conservative Republican challenger to incumbent Sen. Murkowski in the 2022 election.
