Control of U.S. Senate, Alaska House up for grabs

PALMER — Looking to withstand a late charge from Libertarian candidate Joe Miller, and possibly a stronger-than-expected pull from the center by Independent candidate Margaret Stock, Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski held a campaign rally inside the New Horizons hangar at the Palmer airport.

Joined by junior Senator Dan Sullivan, Murkowski met with Valley residents over sliders and coleslaw before she and Sullivan made their presentation.

Sullivan reminded the crowd that Republican control of the U.S. Senate was in the balance.

“I’ve spent the last week down the Lower 48 with other Senators and Congressmen making sure Republicans keep control of the Senate,” Sullivan said. “There were also other Senators from the Democratic Party camp — like Bernie Sanders, like Elizabeth Warren — doing the same thing. The other party has clearly become the anti-small business, anti-resource development, anti-Second Amendment and, yes, anti-military.”

Handed the mic by Sullivan, Murkowski took the military angle and ran. The Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee — a role that would no longer be hers if Democrats take control of the Senate — pointed to threats most Americans think of as far, far away, but Alaskans don’t.

“This is not just about your Senators and Congressman (Don) Young having sharper elbows — this is about our nation’s security,” she said. “Unfortunately, our neighbors to the east — North Korea, Russia, China — they’re all giving us a little more than heartburn. Military presence in this state is something we need to keep fighting for.”

Statewide, balance of the Alaska Legislature is also up for grabs with Democrats looking to erase a 23-16 deficit in the House.

One place they aren’t likely to pick up ground is in District 7, where longtime Wasilla City Councilmember Colleen Sullivan-Leonard appears primed to make the jump to Juneau, challenged by first-timer Sherie Olson, a Democrat.

Like Murkowski, whose father Frank was a long-serving U.S. Senator, Sullivan-Leonard’s family has a lengthy history of service in Alaska. Her grandfather Harvey was a U.S. Marshal, grandmother Viola Sullivan, the first female mayor in Alaska in Valdez, her father was mayor of Anchorage from 1967-81 and her brother Dan Sullivan (not the U.S. Senator), was mayor of Anchorage from 2009-15.

“Public service in my family goes way back,” Sullivan-Leonard said. “I don’t think (politics) was ever an expectation, but part of it is knowing your community. As kids, we were a large family — 7 brothers, 1 sister. We were always active somehow, through church or the Boys and Girls Club that’s pretty much how they taught us. I wouldn’t say they got us into politics; they got us into the community.”

Sullivan-Leonard sees herself as a bridging force on the Wasilla council and hopes to do the same in Juneau.

“I think with any sense of government, you find ways to work with your colleagues and I’d say it’s no different on the state level — you have to work across the aisle,” she said. “I think a lot of people have their hearts in it for the right reason, but we’re faced with incredible challenges and we’ve got to come to a common denominator.”

Sullivan-Leonard said her family hasn’t tried to offer her any unsolicited advice.

“It’s not like we sit around the Thanksgiving table talking politics — more than anything we talk about sports,” she said. “They know I’m a strong individual who’s going to work real hard for my constituents and their expectations are that I’m going to go down there and get ‘er done.”

Sullivan-Leonard’s fellow council member is headed to Juneau, too, as David Wilson, after winning a tight race over incumbent house member Lynn Gattis in the Republican primary, takes Senate Seat D with no opposition in the general election.

A third Valley municipal official is vying to reach Juneau as well. Former Palmer mayor DeLena Johnson is battling non-affiliated candidate Bert Verrall in House District 11, hoping her experience will pay off with voters. It’s been a long journey, having had to defeat fellow Palmer City Council member Richard Best in a hotly contested race.

“I’ve done as much as I possibly can, reached out to as many voters as possible and I feel like I’ve worked as hard as I possibly can,” Johnson said. “This race has been the difference between a sprint and a marathon. Every day, we’re out working as a family every single day. It’s been a long, slow steady test of endurance, really.”

The Republican has won the last 11 elections in District 11. Johnson hopes that backing will help her continue that streak, though she said it’s been tricky running against a non-affiliated candidate like Verrall.

“I really don’t focus on him very much; I’ve just focused on getting out there. I was always going to run like I have the hardest opponent,” Johnson said. “(Verrall) doesn’t have a platform he’s running from and he doesn’t identify strong issues. He’s backed by the Democratic party though, and so, there’s a fundamental difference between us.”

The new Mat-Su legislators will have a built-in mentor when they get to Juneau in 6-term Republican Mark Neuman, who is a heavy favorite going into Tuesday against Democrat Gregory Jones.

“I do all I can to mentor them,” Neuman said. “Mostly I tell them to be proud… Don't worry about what committees you get on right now, learn and become a good legislator.”

Neuman said the anti-incumbent sentiment pervading this year’s race is largely undeserved.

“The campaign never ends. You’re always working for your constituents and that’s basically your campaign,” said Neuman, whose district includes Big Lake and Point McKenzie. “I’ve lived in my district since 1981 and a lot of people know who I am. When you bring in somebody new they can say a lot of things on the campaign trail, but the only commitment I have is to tell the people why I did what I did.”

A pair of incumbents are looking to defend the record of the last legislature with considerably more heat chasing them than he has.

Rep. Shelley Hughes is looking to move up to Senate Seat F, facing a spry up-and-comer in non-affiliated candidate Tim Hale, while Rep. Cathy Tilton looks to hold on to her House seat in District 12 with Constitution Party candidate Karen Perry and Democrat Gretchen Wehmhoff squeezing her to the middle.

A pair of candidates who knocked off incumbent Republicans in the August primary find themselves in contested races for the general with 35-year-old David Eastman, who ousted longtime House member Wes Keller, taking on Democrat Patricia Faye-Brazel in District 10, and George Rauscher, who toppled incumbent Jim Colver and now faces ACP candidate Pamela Goode in District 9.