GOP chair explains endorsement

To the editor,

I am writing about an extraordinary event.

On June 11 the Alaska Republican Party unanimously endorsed Republican George Rauscher. This was a vote by more than 70 statewide volunteers representing Alaska from the Brooks Range to Ketchikan. Not one person spoke in favor of the incumbent, Jim Colver.

The endorsement for George Rauscher came after he was endorsed by local House District 9 Republicans and the grassroots volunteers in Districts 7, 10, 11 and 12.

From the most liberal Republican to the most conservative, everyone supported George Rauscher over Jim Colver. Republicans are rarely uniform. We are individuals, thinking for ourselves and no one tells us what to do. So why the unanimous support for George Rauscher?

One reason.

Jim Colver is not what he says he is. He remains what he was for most of his life, a Democrat. He is running a con.

You probably saw his mailing claiming he was going to “Save Social Security”. That is a federal program and as a State Rep., he has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with it. A scare tactic, a con.

Colver earned a “D” rating from the Alaska Business Report card. (2016 Scorecard) He personally donated $1,000 to Democrat Mark Begich. (FEC)

A majority of his campaign if funded by traditional Democrat Big Labor PACs.(APOC)

He has voted with the Democrat minority in the House on high profile bills.(ADN July 24 A1)

The Chairman of the Accountability Project warns, “(Colver is) very susceptible to flipping over to a Democrat-led coalition in the House.” (ADN July 24, A7)

We believe it.

The Alaska Republicans do not oppose any other Republican incumbent.

We know you will decide for yourselves, and we believe in you - and trust you - to decide who to vote for in the August 16 Republican Primary.

But when you are being played, we think you ought to know the truth.

What makes Colver unique is that he is running a con. We believe he is using you, his colleagues and his new party registration as a ruse to advance the Democrat agenda.

That is why the Alaska Republican Party, all volunteers, stand united behind George Rauscher, a rock solid choice to honestly represent you in Juneau.

Tuckerman Babcock

Chairman, Alaska Republican Party