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The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives and the 20-member Alaska Senate. There are 40 House Districts (1–40) and 20 Senate Districts (A–T). With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska State Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States and the second-smallest of all state legislatures. There are no term limits for either chamber. The Alaska State Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. The current meeting since 2023 is the 33rd Alaska State Legislature. The previous meeting, the 32nd Alaska State Legislature, met from 2021 to 2023.
The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.
The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per 2010 census figures. Members serve two-year terms without term limits. With 40 representatives, the Alaska House is the smallest state legislative lower chamber in the United States. The House convenes at the State Capitol in Juneau.
The 24th Alaska State Legislature served during 2005 and 2006. 9 members of the Alaska Senate were elected on November 5, 2002. The remaining senators and all members of the Alaska House of Representatives were elected on November 2, 2004.
The 25th Alaska State Legislature served for a term lasting from January 16, 2007, to January 19, 2009. All forty representatives and one-half of the senate were elected to their terms on November 7, 2006. The remaining ten senators were elected to their terms on November 2, 2004.
The number of elections in Alaska varies by year, but typically municipal elections occur every year, plus primary and general elections for federal and state offices occur during even-numbered years. Alaska has a gubernatorial election every four years. Members of the state's United States congressional delegation run for election or re-election at the times set out in the United States Constitution. Primary elections assist in choosing political parties' nominees for various positions. On a regional basis, elections also cover municipal issues. In addition, a special election can occur at any time.
Gary Lee Stevens is a Republican member of the Alaska Senate since his appointment in February 2003. Stevens represents Kodiak Island, the southern Kenai Peninsula including Homer and Seward, and Cordova. He was previously a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2001 through 2003. Stevens is the current president of the Alaska Senate since 2023, an office he previously held from 2009 to 2013. In both of Stevens' terms as Senate president, he has led a bipartisan majority coalition of Democrats and Republicans. In 2023, he authored a play about former Alaskan senator Ted Stevens, "Uncle Ted".
Scott Jiu Wo Kawasaki is an American healthcare professional and politician from Alaska. A Democrat, he is a member of the Alaska Senate representing the state's District P, which includes neighborhoods within the city limits of Fairbanks.
Bryce Edgmon is a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 37th District. He served as speaker from 2017–2021. The district includes all or portions of the Kodiak Island Borough, Aleutians East Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, and the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area.
Michael Patrick Kelly was a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 7th District from 2005 until 2011. In the 26th Alaska State Legislature, he served on the Finance Committee, chairing the Corrections and the Natural Resources Finance Subcommittee. He also served on the Fish & Game Finance Subcommittee.
Nancy Dahlstrom is an American politician who has served as the 15th lieutenant governor of Alaska since December 2022. She previously served as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 18th and 13th districts. She was appointed to the House at the beginning of the legislative session in 2003 when the representative-elect, Lisa Murkowski, was appointed to the United States Senate.
Anna MacKinnon is an American Republican politician who is formerly a member of the Alaska Senate, representing District G from 2013 to 2018. Prior to that, she served in the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 17th district, from 2007 to 2013. In the 26th Alaska State Legislature, she was a member of the House Finance Committee, and chair of the Education & Early Development, Labor & Workforce Development and the University Of Alaska Finance Subcommittees. She also represented Eagle River and Chugiak on the Anchorage Assembly from 1999 until being elected to the House. She was elected to each of these offices by defeating an incumbent in the election; her Assembly victory was over incumbent Ted Carlson, better known as the Anchorage police officer who arrested actor Steve McQueen in 1972. Her House victory came in the 2006 primary over incumbent Pete Kott, who by that point was involved in what became known as the Alaska political corruption probe, and who was later sentenced to federal prison. The probe also saw other longtime legislators leave office. Her Senate victory in 2012 came over longtime legislator Bettye Davis, who faced not only redistricting but a primary election challenge from former House member and congressional candidate Harry Crawford, whom Davis narrowly outpolled.
Linda K. Menard is a former Republican member of the Alaska Senate. She represented the G District from 2009 through 2012. She had previously served for over a decade on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough school board, including as president.
The 2020 United States state legislative elections were held on November 3, 2020, for 86 state legislative chambers in 44 states. Across the fifty states, approximately 65 percent of all upper house seats and 85 percent of all lower house seats were up for election. Nine legislative chambers in the five permanently-inhabited U.S. territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C. also held elections. The elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, including the presidential election, U.S. Senate elections, U.S. House elections, and gubernatorial elections.
The 2022 Alaska House of Representatives elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, with the primary election on August 16, 2022. Voters in the 40 districts of the Alaska House of Representatives elected their representatives, in conjunction with state senate elections and the biennial United States elections for federal offices.
The 2022 Alaska Senate elections took place on November 8, 2022, with the primary elections being held on August 16, 2022. State senators serve four-year terms in the Alaska Senate, with half of the seats normally up for election every two years. However, because most districts were greatly changed in redistricting, elections were held for 19 of the 20 seats; the only exception is District T, represented by Democrat Donny Olson, which was mostly unchanged in redistricting and thus did not have an election. Some senators were elected to serve four-year terms, while others would serve shortened two-year terms.
References
- 1 2 3 "Member Information 26th Legislature". Alaska State Legislature.
