When Republican and Democratic state lawmakers broke a rightwing trifecta to reinstate the Alaska House bipartisan coalition, it was to protect Alaskans from the worst of Governor Dunleavy’s radical policies. In 2020, after several Republican coalition lawmakers lost their primaries to rightwing candidates, The States Project worked in the state to elect lawmakers that could preserve it.

Our goal in Alaska in 2022 was to protect what was built in 2020: a bipartisan coalition, the most critical buffer against harmful policies driven by a radical governor. This time, however, we worked in both the House and the Senate with several partners on the ground.

We’re excited that our support helped to put lawmakers in position to negotiate a new bipartisan coalition in the Senate. This coalition will be a critical buffer against Governor Dunleavy, as lawmakers were unable to rebuild the House coalition.

• In Alaska, it was critical to help voters understand the new ranked-choice system of voting, which removed some ability by the radical right to primary candidates who showed interest in joining the bipartisan coalition that stands against the rightwing governor.
• In the Alaska State Senate, all nine Democrats and eight of 11 Republicans have formed a bipartisan coalition, leaving three rightwing state senators in the minority.

Candidates our efforts supported won four seats, including two flips, accounting for a critical 20 percent of the coalition’s seats. This allowed the bipartisan coalition in the House to be rebuilt in 2021.