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Republicans will almost certainly win a majority of the 60 seats in the Alaska Legislature.
Whether they control the House and Senate Which Republicans win.
This year, as has been the case for most of the past decade, party candidates are split. There are many differences, but they tend to fall into two groups.
- Members of one group eschew compromise, pursue conservative positions on social issues, and seek more Endowment dividends than in recent years.
- Members of the second group say it is essential to work with Democrats and independents to improve the state, with restrictions on spending from the Permanent Fund, low (or no) taxes, and restrictions on services and construction. prioritizing maintaining or increasing spending on payout is low.
“There will always be moderates in the Republican Party who want to do their job and move forward,” said Democratic Fairbanks Senator Scott Kawasaki. “And there was a kind of ultra-conservative wing that had a kind of blood oath before they went down[to Juneau].”
House Speaker Louise Stutz R-Kodiak sees it more simply: It’s very simple. ”
This division is seen in statewide legislative elections, but also in statewide US Senate elections. There, Republicans supported rebel Republican Kelly Tzibaka, but some voters and local party officials backed incumbent Republican Lisa Markowski.
However, in the last few years, a split has been particularly noticeable in state and state legislatures, affecting who controls these bodies.
house control
Since 2017, the state legislature has been ruled by a coalition that includes Democrats, independents, and some moderate Republicans.
Republicans won majorities in the House in 2018 and 2020, but failed to do so in both cases. After a month-long stalemate, in both 2019 and 2021, a handful of Republicans joined independents and Democrats to continue the coalition.
The road will get tougher this time. One of his two Republican coalition members, Eagle, his Rep. River, Kerry Merrick, is running for Senate and will almost certainly take on Jamie Allard, a staunch supporter of the Republican-led majority. will be replaced.
After Election Day, Republican candidates led in 21 of the House’s 40 races. As additional votes are tallied and the race of ranked choices sorted, the Republican candidate may gain even more of the lead.
The last Republican member of the coalition was Steutes, who said before the election that she was unsure if she would continue as a member.
“I don’t think anyone knows anything until a fat woman sings it,” Stutz said.
Will Stapp is a Republican from Fairbanks who, based on Election Day results, is the winner of the race to replace outgoing Rep. Steve Thompson.
“Most people I’ve spoken to would think we could have a coalition in the Senate and a Republican majority in the House,” Stup said. “That would be my guess. But you know, voters say this, right?”
The results of the 2018 and 2020 elections created a leadership stalemate in the House as Republicans repeatedly attempted and failed to hold a majority caucus.
These stalemate lasted for a month during the opening legislative session and finally ended when some Republicans overwhelmingly joined the Democratic coalition.
If Republicans remain in control of the House this time around, internal divisions could lead to another impasse in early 2023, candidates say.
It is not yet clear if that will happen.
senate control
The Senate situation is clearer, partly because most of the races have decisive winners. As of Wednesday morning, Democrats lead his nine of her 20 Senate seats. If those leads are maintained, the party will win her two seats from the pre-election standings.
That leaves the Republicans with as much of a majority as possible, 11 seats, but over the past few years, Republicans in the Senate have been divided over budget issues, and the Senate passed the budget because Democrats are moderate Republicans. simply because he voted in favor of the bill prepared by Senate Finance Committee.
“We’ve seen the party structure collapse to some degree here,” said Senator Robert Myers, R-North Pole.
On Wednesday, Democratic senators and incoming senators met in Anchorage for a strategy session aimed at determining whether they can work with moderate Republicans and others.
Unusually, Senators Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) and Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) were in Anchorage for Election Day and remained in the city afterward. Both men are considered likely to be majority members of the coalition. Stevens served as President of the Senate from 2009 until he was 2013.
Stevens said it’s “premature at this point” to say whether a coalition will form, but “within a week” Alaskans could get answers to Senate leadership questions said.
Sen. Jessie Keel (D-Juneau), one of the legislators who flew to Anchorage, said three things needed for an agreement in Congress.
“The definition of coalition varies from person to person,” he said.
Sen. James Kaufman (R-Anchorage) is likely to be the winner of the race to replace Republican Sen. I said we were exchanging messages.
“I’m in conversation, but I’m not ready to say too much,” he said when asked what he thought of the Senate’s organization.
Kawasaki said he hoped the negotiations would proceed quietly.
“Confirmation will be done when the press release comes out,” he said.
The Alaska Beacon is part of the States Newsroom, a network of news stations supported by the Donors Coalition as a Grant and 501c(3) Public Charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. For questions, please contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman: info@alaskabeacon.com. Follow Alaska Beacon on Facebook and twitter.
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