If there was ever any bad blood between independent candidate Bill Hill and ex-Democratic candidate Rev. Matt Schultz, there wasn’t any hint of it on Tuesday when the two appeared at an Anchorage rally ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the state.
Both men spoke at the event, hammering Republican US Rep. Nick Begich III, Trump, and the Republican Party over rising fuel prices and a spiraling affordability crisis. Addressing the cost of living has become a core message for Hill, with ads and signs that declare the price of fuel is “too damn high,” and Tuesday’s event featured placards displaying fuel prices around the state.
“When the fuel barge showed up in Naknek spring, we went from paying $6.70 a gallon to almost $9 a gallon for gasoline. I went from paying $118 to fill my truck … to over $200 to fill up my truck, and it pissed me off,” Hill said, “These are the decisions that are being made that are hurting working Alaskans.”
A commercial fisherman, Hill argued that the high fuel prices—driven largely by Trump’s war with Iran and failed promise to end Russia’s war against Ukraine—are endangering Alaskans’ way of life. He’s pledged to vote against the war, something that Begich has never done, and has voiced support for fuel assistance programs, as well as a less destructive approach to tariffs.
Schultz had positioned himself to the left of Hill in the primary, but struggled with fundraising, ultimately exiting when he felt that being in the race did more harm than good to his ultimate goal of improving things for vulnerable Alaskans.
At Tuesday’s rally, he said that making change now is more critical than ever, warning that something is truly rotten with Trump’s Republican Party.
“The affordability crisis happened because billionaires have purchased our politicians and they’re greedy. That’s why we can’t afford to buy beef. That’s why the families in my church are looking for new homes in a different state, because we have sold our souls, and we have sold our neighbors so that a few wealthy billionaires can get a little bit more,” Schultz said.
“This is a crisis of ethics that has allowed greed to run rampant, and they are so very thirsty for more cash and power that they will excuse any behavior to keep it. That is why today in the Valley, they are rallying around a rapist and celebrating a sadist.”
While polling has shown Democrats have a strong shot to win Alaska’s US Senate and governor’s race, Hill lags farther behind in the polls.
He’s been making up ground, but Alaska-based pollster Ivan Moore has suggested part of the problem is that some Democratic voters may look past his non-partisan label to the lone remaining Democrat on the ticket, perennial candidate Eric Hafner, an imprisoned felon who has never lived in Alaska.
“It’s an indication of one of the negative aspects of running as an independent outside of the cover of the two main parties – while you open yourself to perhaps being able to court votes across the ideological spectrum, you lose some appeal back in the tribe,” Moore said.
So, at least on that front, Schultz’s support may serve as an important signal to Democrats—particularly his diehard supporters who were disappointed by his exit—that Hill can carry on their goals in Congress.
And for Schultz, his handling of his exit and support of Hill has elevated his profile, potentially setting up future political aspirations for a man who has long railed against the dangers of Christian Nationalism.
“These are men who have given a tremendous amount to their communities in varying ways,” said Alaska AFL-CIO President Joelle Hall. “We are so lucky as people that we have this quality of people wishing to serve us and serve our children and build our futures. Alaska’s electoral environment is rich with talented, qualified, passionate people. How lucky are we?”
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 newsletter on the Alaska Legislature, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
