The U.S. Senate race in Alaska turned into a battle Friday over the candidates' views on the issues facing Alaska Natives and rural residents, as Republican challenger Dan Sullivan sought to show the audience at the Alaska Federation of Natives' annual convention that his record on those issues could match that of incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich.
Begich has aggressively courted the Alaska Native and rural vote this year, and at a forum Friday in downtown Anchorage, his message was embraced by a sympathetic, sign-waving crowd filling an auditorium at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. Sullivan struggled to square Alaska Native interests with some of the positions he's taken on the campaign trail and as the state's attorney general several years ago.
From the start, the debate's moderators -- Gerad Godfrey and Ana Hoffman -- put Sullivan on his heels with a series of yes-or-no questions on subsistence and voting rights. Sullivan didn't give a direct answer to any of them, even drawing boos from the crowd when he responded to a question about whether he supports joint federal, state and tribal land management by saying: "I'm going to work with everybody."
A subsequent series of questions gave Sullivan an opportunity to expand on his positions, and even to take some jabs at Begich, including on the issue of a federal contracting provision that has benefited Alaska Native corporations.
With his family members seated in the second row -- including his wife, Julie Fate Sullivan, the daughter of Athabascan leader Mary Jane Fate -- Sullivan cited trips to his in-laws' fish camp on the Yukon River as evidence of his respect for Alaska Native people and culture.
Some of Sullivan's answers drew a smattering of applause. But it was Begich's crowd, as evidenced by screams and cheers from the audience before his opening statement.
Begich's campaign has portrayed Sullivan as an enemy of Alaska Native interests, and it invested heavily in a get-out-the-vote operation in rural areas; Begich claims every door in rural Alaska has gotten a knock from his campaign.
More coverage of Alaska's U.S. Senate election
Friday's forum, broadcast statewide, was a chance for the candidates to make their pitch to an important constituency. Alaska Natives make up 17 percent of the state's voting population, according to a presentation at the AFN convention this week.
Alaska Natives have historically turned out at lower rates than has the general population, but leaders at AFN this year have made a push to boost numbers, coinciding with the opening of new early voting locations across the state. Just before the forum began, Inupiaq elder Willie Hensley hyped up the crowd by tossing out T-shirts emblazoned with a "Get out the Native vote" slogan.
During the forum, the two AFN moderators sat between Begich and Sullivan, who were perched on stools at each corner of the stage. Timekeeper Elizabeth Medicine Crow thumped on a handheld drum when the candidates needed to be cut off.
The questions -- set by an AFN committee in advance -- were straightforward, probing the candidates on where they stood on a series of bread-and-butter issues for Alaska Natives.
But many of them presented tough dilemmas for Sullivan, who was pulled between the crowd and his Republican stances as a backer of states' rights. That was the case when he fielded questions about subsistence rights and tribes' relationships with the state.
Asked how he'd work to repeal an amendment that exempts Alaska from provisions in the federal Violence Against Women's Act, Sullivan pivoted to his work on a state initiative to reduce domestic violence, then said only that he would "work on" the act with communities and the U.S. Justice Department.
Asked about whether he supports the current management regime for subsistence hunting and fishing, Sullivan gave a general response about the need for cooperation between federal and state governments and tribes. He then distanced himself from a legal appeal over subsistence brought by the state when he was attorney general, which named elder Katie John as one of the subjects.
Sullivan maintained the appeal was about "state control over our rivers," adding: "There's no personal lawsuit against Katie John -- I have the deepest respect for her, like I do my mother-in-law."
While Sullivan struggled to answer some questions, he found himself on more comfortable footing fielding questions on other issues, like how he'd improve rural economies and fight congressional efforts to tighten federal 8(a) contracting preferences that have steered business toward Alaska Native corporations.
He also portrayed Begich as a politician who made promises that he couldn't deliver, citing the many bills proposed by the Democrat that haven't become law.
"It's one thing to put forward a bill -- it's another to take action," Sullivan added. Begich responded by describing other avenues he has used to get his priorities into law.
And toward the end of the debate, when the candidates were given an opportunity to ask for clarification of their opponent's stance on a particular issue, Sullivan pressed Begich on three. One was whether Begich had, in fact, made any push in Congress to give Alaska Natives preferential access to fishing and hunting -- over and above the preference that exists for rural residents generally.
Begich asserted that such a preference "is already there," though that's not the case. A spokeswoman later clarified that Begich was waiting to introduce a bill until AFN makes specific policy recommendations -- though in 2010, AFN passed a resolution calling for federal law to be changed to ensure a Native preference.
The forum ended with what might have been the toughest question of all, as the moderators asked Begich and Sullivan if they could say something nice about each other.
Sullivan had to answer first and, after a couple of "ums," told the crowd that "Mark Begich has a lot of respect for the Alaska Native people" -- a comment that drew hearty cheers and a round of applause.
Begich responded by complimenting Sullivan's service in the U.S. Marine Corps, and added that he credited Sullivan's "great family," since "they have to watch the commercials."
"I'm sorry about that," Begich said.