Election 2018: Shower shines in Senate E race

MAT-SU — Republican Sen. Mike Shower won his first general election by a wide margin, defeating Democratic challenger Su Kay.

Shower, a retired fighter pilot with the U.S. Air Force who now flies for Fed-Ex, garnered more than three times the votes of Kay, an award-winning dental hygienist.

“Let’s get this campaign over with so we can get to work. Enough. I want to get the job done,” Shower said from the Anchorage Alehouse where many GOP legislators and hopefuls gathered Tuesday night as results rolled in.

Shower received 9,988 votes as of midnight on Tuesday. The ballots cast for Shower, a firs-time candidate, accounted for 75.46 percent of all votes cast in the Senate E race. Kay received 24.24 percent of the vote with 3,208 votes.

Shower was appointed in February after a lengthy process to replace departed senator Mike Dunleavy, who appears to have successfully won the race for governor. Shower received the Republican nomination in August in a closer race, receiving 68 percent of the votes over Randall Kowalke, then Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman for District 7.

“I don’t like campaigning,” Shower said.

Shower said he is excited to get to work with the governor-elect. Shower did not join the Republican caucus upon entering the Senate in February, following in Dunleavy’s footsteps who had been voted out after refusing to vote with the Senate Majority on the budget.

Shower was eager to attack the three major issues that have been the topic of discussion among candidates all election season: rising crime rates, the Permanent Fund Dividend, and the state’s budget.

“Right away, start figuring out what the organizations going to be, if I can join the caucus or not,” Shower said. “How were going to get the PFD taken care of like we’ve been talking about, how we’re going to repeal SB91...Many things you need to get done but starting with those big ones, because we’ve been promising the people and doggone it we have to do it!”

Shower was pleased with the other election results as all of the Valley legislators retained their seats. Dunleavy has repeatedly promised to restore the full PFD and pay back the money that was withheld under the Walker administration. Shower feels that the smaller PFD has contributed in large part to a lack of trust in government.

“If the people are ever going to trust us again, we have to do what we’ve been promising we’re going to do,” Shower said.

Shower was also pleased to see Ballot Measure 1 fail.

“I’m happy that looks like that’s not going to pass, because that needs to be done in the legislature,” Shower said.