This is start of the election cycle (actually it started after the disastrous 2016 election) with the primary in August, Borough election in October, and the general election in November.

Even though 2016 brought in Trump and returned Don Young to Congress, the bright spot is that the Alaska state house was the only state congressional house in the nation to flip from red to blue!

There are three candidates that have filed to run against Don Young. Alyse Galvin, Dimitri Shein, and Gregory Jones. They are all running in the Democratic primary, although Alyse is an independent. The Alaska Democratic Party has changed their rules to allow independents to run in the Democratic primary. Galvin and Shein will be at the Alaska State Candidate Forum on June 11 at the Downtown Deli in Palmer at 6-8 pm.

Unfortunately, George Rauscher in our own District 9 was elected to the state house. Rauscher has shown very little initiative and is in the pocket of Tuckerman Babcock, the Chair of the Alaska Republican Party. Since Dunleavy (who was our Senate E representative, but quit his seat to run for governor) left his seat open, Rauscher has filed in the Republican primary for that seat. Pamela Goode, who ran in 2016 for District 9 house seat as a Constitutional Party candidate, has filed for the Republican primary in District 9. Goode is about as far right as you can get.

Goode is a reactionary, Rauscher is a Babcock puppet, and Dunleavy will run this state into the ground if elected governor.

So the stakes are high for Alaska and District 9 and we need to need to develop an organization that will replace the far right with progressive candidates at all levels.

I am recruiting progressive activists to help in all of these upcoming races and I hope you can help.

You need not be registered as a Democrat to help.

Please tell your fellow progressives to give us a hand.

Dave Musgrave