Jesse Sumner withdraws from state House District 28 race, citing family

Rep. Jesse Sumner’s decision Thursday to withdraw from his race for reelection in Wasilla’s House District 28 came as no surprise many who knew him. Sumner was judged to be one of the most effective members of the state House, notching up a number of accomplishments.

Reports that Sumner might withdraw had been circulating for some time. His departure leaves three candidates remaining in the race, Steve Menard, Elexie Moore and Jessica Wright. All, like Sumner, are Republican. Menard received the second-highest vote total after Sumner in the Aug. 20 primary election, is now considered to be the front-runner, but voters will make a final decision in November and the state’s ranked-choice voting procedure could make the outcome uncertain.

Sumner said he will not endorse any candidate remaining in the District 28 race.

Sumner’s decision was made mainly for personal reasons, he said. Being in Juneau four months of the year has been hard on his family–he and his wife have young children–plus he has a private business to run. He won’t rule out a bid for office again in the future when his children are older, he said.

Among Sumner’s accomplishments in the Legislature is his steering a bill through the House establishing a lumber grading program for locally-harvested timber that would allow Alaska sawmill operators to be trained to certify the quality and strength of local lumber. This will allow the wood, once certified to meet national standards, to be sold by lumber retailers like Spenard Builders Supply, Lowe’s and Home Depot and to be used in residential construction financed by government programs that have certification requirements.

An important bill championed by Sumner, and which also passed, was a bill bringing Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, which coordinate purchases of pharmaceuticals by many pharmacies, under tighter state regulation. PBMs have now come under national scrutiny for practices that increase drug costs and compromise quality in some bases. Alaska is now among a number of states that have acted to bring the PBMS under tighter regulation.

Another health care bill pushed by Sumner, and which came close to passage, was a measure that would ease prior-approval requirements by health insurance companies for medical procedures. The bill had wide support in the Legislature and almost passed but stalled when a major health insurance company came in at the last minute with objections. Sumner said he felt the criticisms were misleading and intended to confuse lawmakers in the final days of the legislative session.

He expects other lawmakers to continue work on the bill next year.