The day after polls closed in Alaska, the state House has officially flipped from a Republican-led majority to a bipartisan majority and the Senate will stay bipartisan.
Though tens of thousands of ballots have yet to be tallied, bipartisan-minded legislators in key races had firm enough leads to cement control of both chambers. It will mark the first time that bipartisan majorities control both chambers.
It will also likely stymie much of the worst impulses of Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has struggled to work with legislators who aren’t in lockstep with him. However, with President Donald Trump’s election, Dunleavy is expected to be on the short list for some kind of cabinet position.
In the House, independent Dillingham Rep. Bryce Edgmon is slated to retake the Speaker of the House role, a position he held for two terms. His leadership team is rounded out with Kodiak Republican Rep. Louise Stutes as Rules Chair and Anchorage Republican Rep. Chuck Kopp as Majority Leader.
“Alaskans have spoken clearly, and we will work together, representing residents of all regions, to stabilize public education funding, develop affordable energy, and fix Alaska’s workforce crisis,” said Rep. Edgmon.
The coalition laid out four legislative priorities for the upcoming session: Balanced budgets that stay within the spending limits laid out in state law, stable education funding with a goal of reduced class sizes and improved outcomes, retirement reform for public employees and energy development.
According to the latest results, the House is on track to have a 22-member majority with two Republicans, five independents and 15 Democrats. While a few races could flip once absentee ballots are tallied next week, it’s unlikely that the coalition would lose its majority.
The Senate’s 17-member bipartisan majority made it through the election largely unscathed despite heavy Republican spending to unseat a trio of senators seen as the most vulnerable.
The results show Fairbanks Democratic Sen. Scott Kawasaki and moderate Republican Sens. Kelly Merrick of Eagle River and Jesse Bjorkman of Nikiski have leads over their opponents. Partyline Republicans had to make inroads in those races if they hoped to crack the core of the Senate’s bipartisan majority.
Without that, the next Senate is set to look a lot like the current one.
Senate President is set to be Kodiak Republican Sen. Gary Stevens, who will hold an unprecedented fourth term in the role. Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel and Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski will round out the leadership team, reprising their roles as majority leader and rules chair, respectively. The powerful Senate Finance Committee will also be a rerun with Sens. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka), Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel) and Donny Olson (D-Golovin) helming the committee.
Further positions and membership are set to be announced once more votes are counted, and internal organizational meetings are held. Importantly, it means that right-wing Republicans will no longer be in charge of any legislative committees. Under the Republican-led House, right-wing legislators used their committee chairmanships to advance divisive, culture-war-type issues.
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 Twitter.
