Republican US House Speaker Johnson backs Dahlstrom to challenge Peltola and flip Alaska’s seat

Nancy Dahlstrom’s campaign for U.S. House now has a powerful backer in Washington, D.C.: the speaker of the House.

Grow the Majority, a fundraising committee affiliated with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., filed documents allowing it to raise funds jointly for Dahlstrom, a Republican and currently Alaska’s lieutenant governor.

Republican campaign consultant Art Hackney calls the move significant and said it suggests that national GOP money will focus on Dahlstrom, and not the other Republican in the race, Nick Begich III.

“She’s just a pretty solid, straightforward, hard-working person,” Hackney said. “So she obviously impressed the living daylights out of them.”

Dahlstrom announced last month that she is vying to unseat Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, from the lower chamber of Congress. Dahlstrom’s campaign did not respond to emails seeking an interview for this story, nor did Begich.

Flipping the Alaska seat is a top target of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Dahlstrom is among 16 Republican challengers from around the country whom Grow the Majority selected for joint fundraising.

Hackney, who has done campaign work in every Alaska congressional election since 1982, said national support can make a huge difference in Alaska. Next year’s race, he said, will have different dynamics from the last contest, because Peltola will have a record to defend.

“What she’s still got going for her: She doesn’t seem to duck and hide from things,” he said. “She is, you know, pretty authentic in what she’s doing. And, you know, authenticity can take you a long way.”

[Previously: A year after winning Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, Peltola tries to straddle the political divide]

Last year, Hackney worked on Nick Begich’s campaign, but they’ve since cut ties. Begich ran a largely self-funded campaign in 2022. This cycle he’s landed several large contributions from prominent Alaska Republicans.

Peltola reported more than $1 million cash on hand — more than four times as much as Begich — as of the last reporting period. Dahlstrom’s campaign hasn’t had to file campaign finance reports yet.

This story originally appeared on Alaska Public Media and is republished here with permission.