Alaska should be proud that we have two strong independent women in DC representing Alaska. Most of us are. Politically, it is great to have one in each party, to protect and advance Alaska interests no matter which party is in charge nationally. Both are proud members of and align with the core values of their different parties; more on that later.
Mary and Lisa have taken the same position on the most divisive political figure of the last 50 years, President Donald J. Trump; that they will not vote for Trump but are otherwise not endorsing or getting involved in the Presidential race. This position has partisans in the Alaska wings of both parties setting their hair on fire and running around screaming. Mary is taking the brunt of this because she is running for reelection this year.
My message to the party partisans on both sides is “deal with it”. Mary and Lisa have made the right call and are unlikely to change.
Lisa is a real and proud Alaska Republican. (Many of my friends on the left keep forgetting this, going through loops of worshiping her, then getting pissed for a “Republican” vote. Rinse and repeat.) She is, however, a Ted Stevens Alaska Republican; fiscally conservative but determined that Alaska gets what it needs, a hawk on military preparedness and Alaska’s role in national defense, a partner of Alaska Native communities, but socially moderate and a defender of choice.
Mary is a real and proud Alaska Democrat. (My friends on the left need to remember this fact.) She ran on “Fish, Family, and Freedom”, and then, unusual for politicians, actually did the things she promised. She proposed a number of bills that take on the big trawlers by limiting by-catch. It is difficult to overstate how powerful these companies are and how brave Mary is in facing them down. She listened to Alaska families about the impacts of inflation and then supported legislation that has slowed but not yet solved this important problem. She is a warrior for a woman’s right to decide her own medical future. She fought for and got the Willow project going. She even got us a Coast Guard ice breaker and stopped the harmful Kroger-Albertsons merger.
Now both of these strong, independent ladies have taken the position that they are not voting for Trump but are otherwise not endorsing and are generally keeping their powder dry. Alaska Republicans want Lisa to endorse Trump or at least savage Harris. Alaska Democrats want Mary to both endorse Harris and savage Trump. (Like swing voters in North Carolina or Arizona are just waiting for Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola to tell them how to vote.)
I served with both of them in the Alaska House of Representatives and I don’t think either is going to move, for a number of reasons. First, both can stand pressure, even from their friends. Second, neither likes demeaning anyone or the kind of negative politics that some are wishing for on Trump. For Mary in particular, it has never been part of her culture or personality to savage even her opponents, and I don’t think she will start now.
Third, and most important, both realize that the election is likely to be tight and that Alaska is going to have to work with either a Trump or a Harris administration and they take that job seriously. Their position, that they are not voting for Trump but otherwise not getting involved, is the smartest position for Alaska.
If you are one of the people urging either Lisa or Mary to change their minds and jump headlong into this Presidential race, I would suggest a different position. Deal with it. They may actually know what they are doing.
Eric Croft served in the Alaska House of Representatives, and on the Anchorage School Board and Assembly, chairing both of the latter. He is currently happily empty-nesting with his fabulous wife Joanna and their village mutt Nuky.