The sometimes-bitter fight over who is Alaska’s best hope to unseat freshman Republican Rep. Nick Begich III is over after Democratic candidate Matt Schultz ended his campaign last week, clearing the way for independent Bill Hill.
Hill, a commercial fisherman and retired educator from Bristol Bay, has amassed a long list of institutional support from the center and the left, including powerful labor unions. But his centrist appeal — most notably encapsulated by his refusal to commit to not caucus with Republicans — hasn’t necessarily endeared him to progressives looking for a feisty, values-forward counterpoint to Trump.
“I think the basis of Rev. Schultz’s popularity statewide was based on his ability and willingness to speak passionately about the threats to Alaska’s most vulnerable people,” Ivan Hodes, a Schultz supporter who has since thrown his support behind Hill despite prior skepticism, told The Alaska Current. “I hope that Bill Hill understands that he will have to earn the trust of those of us who believed in what Rev. Schultz was trying to do.”
Capitalizing on those kinds of misgivings, though, seems to be the main Republican strategy with the race.
Just last week, the NRCC outlined a plan to use groups to boost Schultz in an effort to rile up misgivings among the anti-Begich vote. While the Hill camp said it was because Republicans believed Schultz would be easier to beat, it was ultimately the last straw for the progressive Anchorage pastor who has struggled to win the eye of key boosters.
“I am deeply disappointed that the GOP chose to meddle in this race and that too many institutions within the Democratic Party ecosystem declined to meaningfully support a campaign rooted in service, integrity, and the needs of working Alaskans,” Schultz said in a statement on Friday. “But we are living through a moment when our democracy itself is under threat, and defeating Nick Begich and restoring a Democratic majority in the House must come before any one candidate or campaign.”
He added that he’s “calling on Democrats, Independents, and all Alaskans who believe in protecting our democracy to vote for Bill Hill in the general election this November.”
For Hill’s part, he recognized the differences between the two but stressed that they shared similar underlying values important to working-class Alaskans.
“We grew up in different places. We don’t agree on every issue. But I’ve sat across the table from Matt and have learned we have similar motivations and values,” Hill said in a statement on Friday. “Today Matt made a tough and selfless decision to put Alaskans first. Matt has run a strong, grassroots, Alaskan campaign. He’s made a clear case for lower costs, affordable healthcare, and an end to the rampant corruption in DC. These are the same issues I’ve committed to fight for in Congress.”
But despite efforts by both campaigns to unite their supporters, Republicans haven’t let up on the effort to divide and conquer. Over the weekend, Begich’s campaign gloated that Hill was “successful” in forcing Schultz out of the race, claiming that “Schultz was shown to be a stronger candidate than Hill.”
Hodes, who came to fame for hounding extreme-right Wasilla Rep. David Eastman over his ties to the anti-government Oath Keepers militia, shared the post with a message warning his followers against falling into the Republicans’ trap.
“It’s okay to be disappointed in what happened in this race, but allowing yourself to resent it so much that you don’t vote is what Begich and Mike Johnson want,” he wrote. “Don’t let them divide us.”
Kevin Groh, a spokesman for Hill’s campaign, was dismissive of Begich’s strategy.
“Nick Begich is trying hard to distract us from his record of raising our costs, taking away our health care, and giving tax cuts to billionaires,” he said. “Nothing has unified Alaskans faster than attempts by Nick Begich and the NRCC to interfere in this race.”
In an interview with The Alaska Current, Hodes said that he wasn’t thrilled with how Schultz exited the race but said that it’s unthinkable to not support Hill when anything else would effectively be gifting Begich another term in office.
“The idea that any Schultz supporter might consider doing anything other than voting for Hill is just absurd. If we’re upset that Hill doesn’t speak out loudly enough in defense of vulnerable Alaskans, imagine how much more upset we are that Begich votes, again and again, to actually harm them — from their voting rights to their access to reproductive rights,” he said. “If we’re frustrated about the role that out-of-state money seemed to play here, imagine how much more unappealing Begich must be: A man backed by nearly a million dollars in donations from out-of-state corporate PACs, not to mention AIPAC. It’s frankly pathetic that Nick Begich thinks he’ll be able to divide Alaskans the way he’s trying to do, and I’m pretty optimistic that progressives, moderates, and independents will come together to get rid of this AIPAC-backed Trump sycophant in November.”
It should be noted that for all the Republicans’ pearl-clutching over Schultz’s exit, they are no strangers to strategic exits in races for the U.S. House. In 2024, Begich got a head-to-head race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola after Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom dropped out amid incredible pressure from national Republicans.
Schultz will still appear on the Aug. 18 ballot and can formally drop out once the election is held. The general election is Nov. 3.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
